SM x Tutu: Chapter of the Moon
by Saturnalius
Summary: While working on a book project, Chibiusa accidentally falls into The Prince and the Raven, finding herself in the revived Gold Crown Town where legends and ballet are becoming a deadly reality. Can Tutu, Chibi Moon, and Fakir save Gold Crown Town and find the Spinner before the story causes a fatality?
1. The Bamboo Cutter

"I'll be back later! I'm going out to work on my book project!" Chibiusa waved, slipping her feet into her favorite pair of red shoes and practically leaping out the door with Diana following close behind.

Everything had settled down with the defeat of Chaos once again. Chibiusa hadn't expected to be returning to 20th Century Tokyo, but here she was once again. She had arrived only last weekend with a letter from Neo Queen Serenity in hand. The queen wanted Chibiusa to attend school in the present and have some time as a normal girl. Chibiusa wasn't one to turn down such an offer as she could be in school with her friends again and spend some time without sailor guardian responsibilities.

She had normal responsibilities now. Like this book project on foreign legends. Sure, she could recall a dozen different Japanese legends, but the foreign ones were more of a mystery. She knew of ones that had been made into movies then localized here, but everyone was probably doing those. She wanted something unique.

And that was how she ended up at the library. She stared at the entrance. She wasn't exactly the studious sort, definitely taking after her mother, but Chibiusa was at the library nonetheless, trying to actually get a good grade on her book project. Her future as a sailor guardian depended on it, she'd convinced herself as she scaled the stairs and marched straight into the fairy tale section. There were so many books on the shelves, it was almost dizzying. She really didn't know where to start. Ami had said to do some research online, but Chibiusa didn't really know how to use a computer.

"You seem lost, little one."

Chibiusa nearly leapt at the rather melodic voice suddenly speaking to her. And she nearly leapt again when she looked up to see the woman standing before her. The woman almost didn't seem real with her elongated head and turnip-shaped seafoam green hair and strange accents on the side of her head that almost looked like carved wood, but hair. Her attire looked as if she'd walked out of _Hansel and Gretel_ and seemed to have her feet permanently fixed into a ballet position.

"D-do you work here?" Chibiusa stammered.

"I work many places," the woman replied. "Please call me Edel."

Chibiusa wrinkled her nose. That was a confusing answer, but at least the woman had a name. The one thing she was certain of is this Edel lady seemed to want to help her, and Chibiusa was rather lost in the legends section.

"I think I do need some help, Miss Edel," Chibiusa spoke politely. "I have a book report on western legends, but I don't want to use the big ones. Everyone knows about _Hansel and Gretel_ or _Sleeping Beauty_ , and I'm sure all my classmates will do their reports on those books. Do you know of any lesser-known legends that I could use?"

"I think I know just the one," Edel replied, turning around and leading Chibiusa deeper into the library, far into the collection of shelves where few people seemed to be. "It is a bit of a tragedy, but it is definitely a good story."

Chibiusa frowned. She wasn't sure she wanted to read a tragedy, but it was just a fairy tale right? There were plenty of Japanese legends that ended in sorrow, just as there were many legends that didn't. She'd met a few legends in her adventures as Sailor Chibi Moon, even recorded many of them in her picture diaries as she helped try to keep the legends from becoming too tragic.

She stared at Edel's back for a moment. "What's it about?"

"There was a prince who fought a crafty raven," Edel replied. "He meets many interesting characters including a dashing knight, a mysterious storyteller, and a lovely princess."

Chibiusa perked up at the mention of princesses and knights. "I do like stories about princesses," she admitted. "Is the princess the heroine?"

"I surely wouldn't want to spoil the ending," Edel evaded the question, turning to pull a book off the shelf. It was a thick book, leather bound, looking like it was part of the fairy tale itself. On the front was engraved several words in some foreign language Chibiusa couldn't recognize.

Chibiusa wrinkled her nose. "That's... that's written in Japanese, right?"

"But of course," Edel offered the book to Chibiusa. "It even has the small furigana so you can read the complex kanji you do not know."

Chibiusa lit up. Kanji were hard. It was all memorization of complex characters that all looked the same in the end. But the little furigana characters told her how to pronounce the words, which made it easier to understand what was written. She stared down at the book. It certainly looked like a story no one would read for a book project. And even if it did end in tragedy, perhaps she could draw out the characters for her report and make it more vibrant.

She looked up from the book with a smile. "Thanks, Miss Edel- Huh? Where'd she go?" She was now strangely alone in the far recesses of the library with the only exit behind her. Surely Edel hadn't slipped past her unnoticed.

Perhaps she had. Chibiusa shrugged, staring down at the book. She'd find Edel later and thank her. For now, perhaps she'd start reading a bit of the book while she had the quiet of the library. Her house could be so noisy when Usagi was whining and wailing. Here, everything was peaceful and hushed.

She set her backpack down on the ground, Diana peeking out from opening. Chibiusa settled down next to her, leaning against the bookshelf with the book in her lap. "I found an interesting book, Diana. It's a tragedy, but I'd like to give it a read anyway. There's a knight and a princess in this one, even a prince."

"That sounds interesting, Small Lady," Diana agreed, peering out of the bag and at the book. "It looks old."

"It does, but maybe that'll make it interesting," Chibiusa agreed, staring at the cover. "Drosselmeyer..." she stumbled over the name. The book was foreign, so she honestly didn't expect an easy name, but this one was well beyond anything she could reasonably pronounce.

She opened the book. On the front page was a rough ink sketch of a handsome prince with feathers up his sleeves and a long cape. "Prince Siegfried," she read the inscription. She flipped the page, finding a few more drawings, one of the knight Lohengrin and of the Raven.

But the next page caught her attention. There was a princess in a white dress with ballet shoes and orange hair in a perfect arabesque. "Princess Tutu... She's so pretty. I'd like to meet someone like her." Her thoughts were quickly interrupted as her Chibi Moon Compact attached to her school uniform began to glow. "H-huh?!"

"Small Lady!" Diana gasped. "What's happening?!"

"I don't know!" Chibiusa dropped the book in surprise. "Is there a new enemy?! But I thought Mama said that there wouldn't be anymore!" The book on the floor rose up as if pulled by strings and began to glow brighter and brighter. It flooded the darker recesses of the library in light then suddenly flickered out, the book falling to the floor, Chibiusa and Diana nowhere in sight.

...

"Miss Duck? Miss Duck!"

The words jarred her from her thoughts as Mr. Cat stared at her intently. "M-m-m-m-mister Cat!" she stammered, skittering backwards into the practice bars at the edge of the room. She paused. Everything was as just as she remembered, but that wasn't possible. The story ended and she returned to her true self to be with Fakir at the pond. Mytho and Rue had returned to the story, Gold Crown Town was no longer controlled by stories, and Drosselmeyer was nowhere to be seen.

Yet there she was in her white ballet outfit, a gem on her leotard, and her long hair pulled up by a headband. "I'm a girl again?" She glanced around the class. Mytho and Rue were both noticeably absent, but she could see Fakir across the room looking about as surprised as she was.

"Of course you're a girl, one that needs to pay attention in class! If you don't, Miss Duck, or I may force you to _MARRY MEEEEEEEE!_ " Mr. Cat threatened.

"I promise she'll pay attention, isn't that right?" Lilie grabbed Duck, wrapping one arm around Duck's shoulders and pulling Duck's face with her other hand.

"That's right, Mr. Cat!" Pike protested. "I'll make sure of it."

"Mrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr," Mr. Cat growled. "Very well, then. Pay attention. The next ballet we'll focus on is based on an ancient legend called _Princess Kaguya_. The tale begins with a Bamboo Cutter who has no children. But one day when he's out harvesting bamboo, he finds a small child the size of his thumb within one of the stalks. He takes her back and raises her as his own."

"Was that Kaguya in the stalk?" Anteaterina marveled.

"How perceptive, Miss Anteaterina," Mr. Cat nodded. "That small child grew to be a normal sized and extraordinarily beautiful woman. She was courted by ordinary men and even the emperor, but she turned each one down as she wasn't from this land."

"Oh my, what a scandal!" Lilie gushed.

"What _isn't_ a scandal with you?" Pike frowned.

"It wasn't quite a scandal exactly," Mr. Cat corrected her. "Kaguya was a princess from another kingdom. And soon she did return to the Capital of the Moon, unfortunately leaving her beloved adopted family behind."

"That's so tragic," Duck frowned.

"There's much more to the tale, so be sure to read it before next class," Mr. Cat instructed. "Because if you don't, I'll have you M-M-M-M-MARRRY MEEEEEE!" He huffed a sigh as he noticed the class had all fled.

Duck had scampered out of the classroom as fast as she could. She had more on her mind than the tale of Princess Kaguya. The confusion right now was how she was back here, in class, with Mr. Cat threatening to marry her as he retold the story of a legend she'd never heard. She'd never heard of the ballet related to the legend either.

She stopped on the walkway suddenly, shaking her head vigorously. "Pay attention, Duck!"

"Oh yes, pay attention, Duck!" Lilie chided, pulling at Duck's face. "Or were you daydreaming about Fakir again? How scandalous!"

"I bet she was all day," Pike agreed.

"Of course she was!" Lilie answered, smushing her face against Duck's. "Oh look!" she grasped Duck's jaw, turning her face. "There's your boyfriend now!" With a giggle, she shoved Duck hard, pushing the girl over and onto her face as she skidded up the sidewalk and stopping right before Fakir's feet. "Ohoho, have a good lover's chat, you two!"

And with that, Lilie and Pike scrambled off.

"Owww," Duck fussed before flipping herself back up. "I've been wanting to find you, Fakir. I don't know what's going on."

"I've been trying to figure that out too," Fakir frowned a bit.

"Did the stories come back to life?" Duck worried. "What about Mytho and Rue? Is the story continuing?"

"They're still in the book," Fakir shook his head. "It's still on my desk in my room, and I haven't seen them since this all started. Perhaps there's another Spinner or something entirely different."

"I don't feel any different," Duck noted, staring down at her shirt. "But I do have a different pendant. It's pink instead of red. I don't think it's a heart shard this time."

"It does look different," Fakir agreed. "Have you tried taking it off?"

Duck shook her head. "I've been afraid to. It might just all be a dream."

He couldn't blame her. He knew that Duck still wanted to dance ballet, and that was something she couldn't do as a duck. He'd convinced her that she should become her true self, but there was a part of him that worried she wasn't happy with the decision. Yet as she floated along the lake as he wrote, she seemed pretty happy.

But that still left the situation at hand. It was as if little had changed. No one seemed to remember the Dance of the Crows or the giant foreboding raven in the sky. People really had returned as if the story hadn't ended, even though it had. "No need to take it off. We can focus on what's happening here and now. There's something strange on the edge of the town I think you need to see."

...

"QUAAAAAA-" Duck cut herself off quickly, clamping her hands over her mouth. With whatever was going on, she wasn't sure if saying quack would turn her back into a duck just yet. She had a gem around her neck that she didn't recognize, making her into a girl again. She wasn't even sure if she could become Princess Tutu again.

But right now, her mind was focused on the massive bamboo forest that was now growing in the northern end of Gold Crown Town. There was never a bamboo forest there before, not that she could ever recall, but much of Gold Crown Town was turned upside down in the battle against the raven. "It's like the story Mr. Cat told, the one about the moon princess in the bamboo."

"Can't be coincidence," Fakir agreed, staring at the forest. He'd never seen bamboo here. It wasn't local, just these strange trees he'd seen in picture books and legends in the library. "I'm going in."

Duck didn't bother to stop him. Instead, she'd practically stuck to the back of him like glue. In a way, it was nice to have someone with her to try to understand what was going on instead of trying to go at it alone with only Drosselmeyer to egg her on. "F-fakir!" she shouted. "The new pendant! It's glowing!"

Fakir whipped around to see the light from the pendant, but the light in the forest quickly caught his attention. One of the stalks of bamboo began to grow brighter and brighter, bathing the forest in a bright light. The light began to reach forward more and more.

"Stay behind me!" Fakir instructed as the light reached forward.

The light began to take shape, first like rabbit ears then transforming into a young girl and a tiny gray kitten. The pair toppled forward, Fakir catching them quickly, making sure to not even drop the kitten. The girl was unconscious, leaning into him helplessly. She was dressed strangely with brilliant pink hair and an unfamiliar outfit. A crescent moon faintly glowed on her forehead before disappearing. "What in the world?"

"A girl from bamboo?" Duck peered around Fakir. "Could it be? Kaguya?"


	2. Princess Kaguya

"I know, I know you're hungry! Don't fight, Finch Mom! There's plenty here to take back to your fledglings!"

Chibiusa finally stirred, rubbing at her face. Last thing she could remember is reading that mysterious book in the library and then a bunch of light. But somehow she was in bed. Perhaps she'd just fallen asleep in the library and Usagi brought her home. But then what was all that chirping and that voice she didn't recognize?

Chibiusa shot up in bed, nearly knocking Diana off the comforter. At the window was a girl with strange orange hair covered in birds, holding a pan of bird seed. The place looked wholly unfamiliar, more like something out of a fairytale book.

"You're finally awake!" Duck emerged from the swarm of birds, setting the pan of bird seed on the windowsill. She dusted herself off and offered Chibiusa a smile. "Princess Kaguya."

"P-princess Kaguya?!" Chibiusa shouted in surprise, nearly falling out of bed.

"You suddenly came out of a bamboo stalk," Duck explained somewhat frantically before picking up the book from her desk and fumbling with it for a bit. She handed it to Chibiusa. "So you're Kaguya right? What am I saying, of course you are. You came from a bamboo stalk in a giant flash of light where are my manners I totally forgot about them suddenly ahahahahaha."

Chibiusa stared down at the book. It wasn't written in Japanese but somehow she could read it now. She'd heard that tale before, even met Princess Kaguya, but she had no idea what was going on or how she ended up in a bamboo stalk. "Where is this?"

"This is Gold Crown Town," Duck replied. "It's kinda weird, but it's not so bad."

Chibiusa stood up, walking over towards the window and peering outside around all the hungry birds. This place looked completely unfamiliar. The houses looked like they belonged in drawings of old fairy tales. It was like she had suddenly been sucked into one. "I have no idea how I got here. Last I remember I was reading a book in a library and this strange librarian handed me _The Prince and the Raven._ "

Duck gasped, nearly tripping over her two feet. "Where did you find that book?!"

Chibiusa blinked, surprised by the outburst. She never expected anyone to know about the story. "Some strange librarian gave it to me. Edel, I think her name was."

Duck gasped again. There was no way it was the same Edel. She was just a puppet who burnt herself to save everyone.

"Then all of a sudden, the book lit up, and I ended up here," Chibiusa explained. "I was looking at a drawing of Princess Tutu, thinking how I'd like to meet her. I know it sounds really strange, but that's really what happened!"

"Things are pretty strange here," Duck nodded emphatically. "Though you popping out of a bamboo stalk isn't the weirdest. Stories come alive here like you did."

"So that's why you thought I was Kaguya," Chibiusa smiled. "But I'm not her."

"Are you from the moon?" Duck pressed. "I mean I don't mean to press and all but you really did pop out of a stalk of bamboo last night with a moon on your forehead."

"A-ah well... that was..." Chibiusa stammered. "I mean, it's kinda technically true and all. Mama was from the moon but I live on Earth. My name's Usagi, but everyone calls me Chibiusa."

"I'm Duck," Duck introduced herself, the foreign name somehow translating into a word she understood. "Like the bird and all, but that's kinda silly, right? So you're a rabbit and I'm a duck!"

"That _is_ silly!" Chibiusa agreed. "But there's no reason a rabbit and a duck can't be friends!"

Duck offered a bright smile as well. "It's pretty early still but we should go visit the school school for art and music and dance and stuff. I mean you're stuck here and all and you might as well enjoy the place until we can figure out how to return you to where you came."

"Art school?" Chibiusa perked up.

"Mhm!" Duck nodded. "We're in the dorms for the school. Don't worry, you can bunk with me. Just don't mind the birds, they sure do love their birdseed in the morning!"

Duck did have a point. Chibiusa definitely did seem like she was stuck here, and Duck seemed pretty nice. It would be nice to attend an art school, but she was pretty certain she wouldn't live a normal life here. If stories were coming true, then there could be some sort of enemy lurking around. At least the Chibi Moon Compact was still with her. "I would love to be in drawing and painting classes. But I can't explain where I came from."

"That's just how this town is," Duck shook her head. She truly felt like she could talk to Chibiusa about the truth of Gold Crown Town. After all, Chibiusa did arrive just as Princess Kaguya did in the story. Technically she was a storybook character now too, right? At least she seemed fully aware that she was suddenly thrown into the city. "Stories just begin, people just arrive, and really only a few of us are actually aware it's happening. That's what Miss Edel always said. So likely you're already enrolled in the classes you want. That's kinda how I ended up here suddenly, enrolled in ballet class. We should be able to find a schedule in the art building! Here, you can borrow my second uniform so you fit in."

...

Duck's uniform was just a little too big on Chibiusa, sagging a bit at the waist, but it was still rather cute. she'd never really seen a style of uniform like this before, and it was a nice change from what she normally wore.

She glanced around as Duck lead her across campus. This place was strange. The students weren't all human. Some of them were animals of all sizes, anything from hippos to birds and even large butterflies. She leaned took a few large steps forward to pace herself with Duck. "The people are also animals?"

"Mhm," Duck nodded. "I don't really know why. I'd say you get used to it, but you really don't. Like my ballet teacher, Mr. Cat. He's really a cat that's weirdly obsessed with marriage."

Somewhere across campus, Mr. Cat's ears twitched.

"That's pretty strange," Chibiusa nodded. "I bet if I had taken Diana with me, she'd fit right in. Perhaps we could give her a cute little uniform."

"Your kitten?" Duck recalled the name.

"She can... well she can talk," Chibiusa explained. It felt so strange to be so free with information, but it was like Duck had said. This place was weird and there were few who actually realized it was. A talking cat would probably seem rather normal. She could probably pass as a student with Chibiusa at this point, and it would be nice to have Diana with her all the time.

"She'd definitely fit right in!" Duck reassured her. "I bet we can get her a uniform, if there isn't one made for her already."

 _Right, because characters suddenly manifested in the story and became known,_ Chibiusa reminded herself. It was truly like a story in that sense. Perhaps there would be some people who knew who she was already.

"Chibiusaaaa!"

Chibiusa knew that voice. She whipped around finding a familiar face bounding towards her and hugging her. "Momo?"

Momoko smiled brightly. It was the same Momoko that Chibiusa fondly recalled, her best friend from school in Tokyo. She looked pretty much the same, her deep fuschia hair pulled back into a bun with a white bun cover, but she now wore the same Gold Crown Academy uniform as Chibiusa now wore. "I'm so glad to hear you're feeling better. I heard that you had collapsed out in the city." She turned to Duck with the same bright smile. "I'm glad you're such a great roommate, Duck!"

Duck blinked. Chibiusa had already been written into the story as her roommate? Was this Fakir's doing or simply the will of the town's story? "Ahaha well you know, I always do what I can for my roommate! My dear friend, my roommate, Chibiusa, of course!" She laughed nervously.

"Silly Duck," Momoko laughed. "I'll see you in art class soon, Chibiusa! I'll bring by some milk for Diana later! I hope she's feeling better!" She smiled, turning then bounding off into the fine arts building before the two.

Duck heaved a sigh, feeling exhausted from all the stammering. "I have no idea who that was."

"Momoko Momohara," Chibiusa filled Duck in. "She's from the same place I am, my best friend from school in Tokyo. But why is she acting like she's always been here?"

"That's how it is when a new person appears here," Duck frowned. "They don't realize they're in a story. I mean, I didn't even realize it at first either. It's a really weird effect this place has. Don't worry too much, Chibiusa, I'm sure she's just fine! Ahahaha!" She patted Chibiusa on the back emphatically.

But Chibiusa did worry, and in a way, she was certain that Duck worried too. People were being brought into the story from Tokyo and didn't realize it. What was causing it? It couldn't be that she simply wished to meet Princess Tutu that started all this, could it? Or was it that book?

Everything felt so strange but not in an unfamiliar sense. Something felt like it was _wrong_. Perhaps she was overthinking things. Perhaps this was all just a dream. But inside her heart, Chibiusa felt something was off, that this was real and that an enemy was lurking within the shadows.

She placed a hand on her brooch. She still had that power within her, and if the time came, she would protect her new friend as Sailor Chibi Moon.

Chibiusa smiled as Duck stared at her worried. "Just nervous about starting in a school that I've supposedly belonged to for awhile, that's all," she dismissed the concern.

"I bet it would be a little strange," Duck admitted with a bit of a laugh. "But don't worry, you'll be fine! You kinda get used to it."

"Right, you're totally right," Chibiusa nodded. She'd started at school suddenly before when she started at Juban Primary School. It wasn't too much different. She'd arrived without explanation, attending the school and finding a way to fit in even though she was from a different time. Perhaps this time wouldn't be so different.

She offered a wave to Duck, heading off towards the art building. _Everything would be okay._


	3. The Picture-Cats

"Oh look over there, it's Duck and Fakir!" Lilie pointed across the courtyard towards the hill near the fountain. Sure enough, Duck and Fakir were seated on the hill with Chibiusa next to them. "Oh is that Duck's roommate? Oh how scandalous!"

"How is that even scandalous?" Pike frowned.

"It could be a menage trois!" Lilie simply made up the story as she saw fit. Placing a hand on her face, she seemed to revel in the supposed scandal. "Oh poor Duck! Bested by her roommate!"

"I don't think that's it," Pike shook her head, grabbing Lilie by the sleeve. "Let's go. We have homework to do."

Fakir closed the notebook, tucking the quill in the pages. "So let me get this straight, you're from outside this town from another country?"

Chibiusa had busied herself with doodling in a notebook. She wasn't really used to working with quills but at least this place seemed to have ordinary wooden pencils. The place didn't seem to understand comics but she was drawing them anyway, detailing the oddities of her first day in class at Gold Crown Academy. "Mhm. It's called Tokyo. Momo's from there too, but she doesn't seem to remember."

"But you're also from the moon, like in the story," Duck pointed out.

"I was born on Earth but Mama was from the Moon," Chibiusa nodded. It was a bit more complicated than that. Usagi was reincarnated on Earth after being a princess of the Moon Kingdom. Then eventually, Usagi ascended with Mamoru and the two became the Queen and King of the future Earth but also the Moon Kingdom had been restored. But that was too complicated to describe, so she just decided it was easier to say Mama was from the Moon.

"And yet, somehow this world sought to bring you here as if you were Princess Kaguya," Fakir noted.

"Any idea why yet, Fakir?" Duck leaned against him. "Are there other Spinners?"

Chibiusa still was trying to figure out all the terms. It was like being told to read the middle of the story and skipping the beginning. "Spinners are the ones who write the stories that control this place, right?"

"That's right," Fakir nodded. "If there's one here, we'll need to find a way to counteract them. Normally they're in control, but sometimes they can be intertwined into the story itself. But first, we'll need to know what they're after and how you're tied into all this, Chibiusa. There must be a reason why this story started again after we finally had ended it."

"Whatever it is, I'll be ready," Chibiusa nodded assuredly. Surely her sailor powers still worked, even in a storybook world. After all, magic was pretty prevalent in legends and myths. It made sense, at least in her mind. "We'll figure this out together."

"Until then, the best we can do is play along and see how this story unfolds," Fakir suggested.

Duck knit her brow a bit. She was worried about Mytho and Rue's story. If stories were coming back to life, would they be pulled from their book as well? They had finally found happiness. The Raven had fallen, Mytho had his heart back, Rue was no longer Kraehe. It was better they stayed in the book, happy with their ending.

She was also worried that she wouldn't be able to help as Princess Tutu anymore. She was only Tutu due to the heart shard that Drosselmeyer had given her.

But Chibiusa's determination was infectious, and she did have Fakir at her side now. Perhaps this wouldn't be too ultimately bad.

...

Chibiusa was unnerved, glancing beside her. Art classes from several grades had been combined into one for a large drawing symposium. To one side was Momoko. But the other side was one of those animal people. It was only her second day here, so everything felt very strange and foreign. And she wouldn't have been so unnerved if the animal she'd merged with had been anything but a crocodile.

She tried to turn her attention to the teachers in the front of the art studio.

"Today, we have special guests for our art symposium," announced the teacher. Miss Kitter was a tall black cat with brilliant green eyes. She sported a pair of wire-framed glasses and a flowy yellow spring dress. She was drawing teacher for Chibiusa's grade and was a very kind person, if not at first unnerving that a giant cat was teaching an art class. "Our focus today is on movement and flow of the art, so I've invited a few guests to come pose for us. Mr. Cat, if you would."

Chibiusa peered around her easel, watching the brown cat in a green shirt enter the room. So this was Mr. Cat that Duck had told her about yesterday, the one that threatened to marry everyone.

Mr. Cat's ears twitched. "Was someone thinking about m-m-m-m-marria-"

"Mr. Cat!" Miss Kitter hissed.

"Mmrrrrrrrrrrr," Mr. Cat growled, conceding. "I have the pleasure of introducing one of our top ballet students and that other one. Not sure why you chose her."

"I'm not sure why either..." came the meek voice from behind the door.

"In any case," Mr. Cat cleared his throat, "here are Fakir and Duck to pose for you today.

Duck offered a rather nervous wave, practically clinging to Fakir.

"Don't be nervous," Fakir told her quietly. "Just remember the dance in the lake."

That was right, the dance in the lake. It was the time when she'd accepted who and what she was and understood her feelings for Fakir. It was also the time where she'd danced so gracefully as if she had gained Tutu's dancing skills suddenly. Or perhaps it was because she'd had such a great partner.

As the crowd of artists clapped to welcome them, Duck noticed Chibiusa sitting in the second row. Duck vigorously shook her head. _Don't be nervous, Duck!_ she chided herself. She had both Chibiusa and Fakir to support her right now. And she was dressed in a beautiful baby blue tutu with gold accents that complimented Fakir's deep blue attire.

"You'll have five minutes to sketch each pose before the dancers change positions," Miss Kitter explained. "The dancers can choose whatever pose they desire each time they change, but make sure it's something you both can hold for five minutes."

Duck swallowed hard. She wasn't that good, and she wasn't even on pointe yet. Why exactly did Miss Kitter choose her again?

Fakir took her by the waist. "Let's start easy," he whispered to her. "Releve in fifth position and lean into me."

Chibiusa marveled as Duck stood on her toes, raising her arms above her head in the shape of an egg. Fakir held her by the waist, supporting her as she leaned slightly into him. Those two were truly amazing, Chibiusa noted as she quickly sketched the pose they held, adding movement into Duck's tutu as she worked. She'd have to show the pair her sketches later.

"Five minutes, change pose," Miss Kitter announced.

"Do an arabesque," Fakir told her quietly.

"I-I'm not sure I can hold it for five minutes," Duck admitted nervously.

"Just hold it as long as you can," Fakir told her, placing one hand on her stomach and the other underneath her extended leg. "Remember, we're doing this together. Remember we've danced together before. Just think of the lake."

"R-right," Duck attempted to reassure herself. She had danced beautifully there in that lake, even if it had started off as a dance of sorrow. But in that moment, she felt close to Fakir, she felt certain of herself, she felt more like Tutu. She wanted to be a good dancer like Tutu and like Rue.

"Your roommate is so pretty," Momoko gushed to Chibiusa.

"She really is," Chibiusa agreed. "Look at how graceful she looks."

But Duck didn't feel so graceful. Her supporting leg felt like it was burning. _Please let the five minutes be up already!_

Chibiusa continued to scribble at the paper until her charcoal stick suddenly broke. "Oh no, it broke, and I'm not done with the sketch yet!"

"Here," the crocodile girl leaned over, offering her a stick of charcoal. "I have extras, so use this. Try not to bore too hard into the paper. It makes it easier to get the fine lines and keeps your charcoal from breaking."

Chibiusa stared for a moment then smiled. "Thanks!" This crocodile girl wasn't so scary. She was actually pretty nice. She turned back to the paper, continuing to sketch as quickly and as delicately as she could. The crocodile girl's tips really did help.

"Five minutes, change pose!" Miss Kitter announced.

Fakir leaned into her again. "You trust me, right?"

Duck stared over her shoulder at him. "Well that's kind of a silly question, Fakir, of course I trust you I mean we've been through some much and all and-"

"Tuck up your supporting leg," he interrupted her. "We're doing a fish dive." He wrapped his arm around her waist, bending his front leg as she leaned over it. He guided her further forward as he leaned as well, lifting her off the ground and completely supporting her with his leg and arm. "Just keep your back arched and you won't fall."

"R-r-right..." she was admittedly nervous. She hadn't done too much pair work outside of when she danced as Tutu. However, Duck was still determined to be a good dancer. She had to do her best, not only for herself but for Fakir. If she didn't do this right, it would put a lot of strain on him and he wouldn't be able to hold her. She peered towards the doorway, keeping her focus on something not moving, and she notice Mr. Cat staring in shock.

Chibiusa quickly flipped to the next page, flipping the paper on the easel sideways so she could get the whole pose in. Ballet sure was pretty. She'd barely seen much of it, but everything about it was so graceful and the pair made it look so effortless.

But Duck didn't feel like it was effortless. _Think of the Pas de Deux at the lake._ She glanced over her shoulder at Fakir, who seemed to be holding the position as if he were simply standing. _Of course, Fakir is really good at this, holding this pose like it's nothing. I want to be a good dancer like him and Rue and Mytho. I want to be a good partner for him, so I'll hold this pose as best I can so he doesn't feel strained._

In truth, it was like the dance at the lake. It felt effortless, even though he could tell that she was feeling a little strained. These poses weren't exactly meant to be held for so long, but it was fun to try. In truth, he had missed dancing since the story ended. He missed dancing with Duck, even if she was a little shaky and unstable when she did it. But that dance at the lake, that was when she felt like she wasn't holding back. Perhaps they'd dance like that again.

"Five minutes, final pose!" Miss Kitter announced.

"Let's finish this off grand," Fakir proposed, pulling Duck upright so she could unbend her supporting leg and return to arabesque. "Let's do a Romeo and Juliet lift."

"I-I-I've never done one before..." Duck stammered. "At least not as Duck..."

"Arch your back and pull both legs up like you're doing a swan dive," Fakir instructed. "Hold very still and I'll do the rest." He knelt down in front of her as she leaned forward, placing both hands on her belly and lifting her up over him as he knelt.

She held herself as still as possible, seeing Mr. Cat nearly collapse in the corner from surprise. She could hear a few gasps in the classroom. Was it possible that she was capable of becoming a great dancer as she'd always wanted? Perhaps Tutu really was just another side of her, a very graceful beautiful side that really wasn't Duck, but maybe the two didn't have to be so different.

...

Duck nearly collapsed on the walkway outside the art building.

"Oh my wonderful and graceful little duck!" Lilie plucked Duck off the sidewalk and pulling her into an unnecessarily tight hug. "You looked so amazing today! Pike and I were watching you through the window, totally not stalkerish or anything at all! Soon you'll be out of that probationary class and into pointe with us!"

"I... I can't breathe..." Duck gasped.

"You really did look amazing, both of you!" Chibiusa complimented. "I'll have to share all my sketches with you!" she indicated the large sketchpad tucked under her arms. "I was so into it I accidentally broke my charcoal twice." She laughed at herself a bit, embarrassed.

"You just need to not bore down so hard," the crocodile girl informed her. "I'm Crocodette, by the way. Same grade as Fakir here." She offered a polite wave.

"QUAAAA-" but the Lilie squeezed the wind out of Duck before she could say more.

Another girl approached. She had short dusty hair and large wire-framed glasses, reminding Chibiusa of Ami when she wore her glasses and was being studious. "Oh hello, Duck, it's good to see you again."

"Oh hi, Malen!" Duck wriggled her way out of Lilie's grip. "It's good to see you again too! I hope our dance was inspiring since I know you like to draw ballet and all but I mean it was mostly Fakir doing all the work and stuff."

"Idiot," Fakir scoffed. "It's a partnership."

"Can't you draw anything else?! Idiot!" The group turned to see a girl with two buns on the side of her head that looked like mouse ears harassing a boy with deep blue hair holding a sketchpad.

"Well that's not very nice," Duck pushed her lips out angrily.

"That's Shobolan and Artis," Crocodette filled the group in. "They're both artists and dating, but I've never seen them act like this."

"I haven't either," Malen shook her head. "Normally they're so kind to each other, encouraging each other to become better artists. Their art is beautiful."

"But lately all Shobolan does is shout at him, and all Artis wants to do is draw cats," Crocodette added. "It's really strange. Artis has always liked cats, but he's never drawn them so obsessively and Shobolan was always really friendly before."

 _A sudden change?_ Duck listened to the description. _It almost sounds like a heart shard, but those have all been returned to the prince. Maybe Fakir is right. Something is going on here. People don't just change so much so fast._

"That's heartbreaking," Chibiusa frowned.

"It really is. Now it seems that all Shobolan wants to do is shatter Artis's dreams of becoming a painter," Crocodette added.

The crocodile girl's words struck hard with Chibiusa. She wanted to be the protector of people's dreams as Chibi Moon, but the sailor guardians had fought that battle against Nehellenia and won, returning people's dreams to them. She knit her eyebrows as she watched Shobolan shove Artis off towards the dorms. Could there be someone after people's dreams? Or was she overthinking this?

She glanced over to Duck and Fakir. They looked worried. Perhaps she wasn't so far off. Something _was_ going on here, and she'd soon likely have to fight. She clutched her brooch. The other guardians weren't here. She'd have to fight alone, but to protect her new friends, she'd do everything she could to stop whatever evil threat had surfaced.

… **...**

 **Author's ramblings**

Lilie's attempts to make everything a scandal is my favorite.

All the moves Duck and Fakir use are real ballet moves. My favorite is definitely the fish dive. I found it while looking up holds. I thought it would have a more elegant name but it is legitimately called a fish dive. And it looks like a fish diving.


	4. The Boy Who Drew Cats

"Y-y-you know, we probably shouldn't be here," Duck stammered, awkwardly pressing herself against the side of the art building, standing on her tippy toes as if she were doing some sort of awkward releve-plie combination in her street clothes.

Chibiusa was more than pleased to be back in her usual sailor outfit, though it did make her stand out a bit as they attempted to sneak through the hallway. "I'm certain I saw Shobolan and Artis enter here. Something's really up with them. People don't normally flip personalities like that." Diana clung to her shoulder, peering around and keeping an eye out for things as they moved.

"This could be our first clue into who or what is spinning the story here," Fakir agreed, peering around the corner to the art building's entrance. He'd arrived in simple clothes as well, a quill and small pad of paper tucked into his back pocket. "The coast is clear."

"I've come across people who steal other people's dreams before," Chibiusa added, carefully following Fakir around the corner and into the building. "But they were defeated by powerful guardians in my world."

"Stories can come alive here at any time," Fakir pointed out.

"I'm not really sure they counted as a story, unless someone's been reading my picture diary," Chibiusa wrinkled her nose, still recalling the battle with Nehellenia. It was pretty grueling at times, working their best to help protect people's dreams. She couldn't have fought without all her friends and even Helios by her side. Here was a little different, but she still wasn't alone. Fakir had the power of a Spinner, but Duck? Duck was a bit of a mystery.

But nothing had truly prepared them for the sounds of yelling and fighting echoing down the hallway. It was in the distance, the halls warping the noise and scrambling the words, but it sounded more like animals fighting.

Duck didn't like the sounds in the distance. They were scary. "QUAAAAA-"

Fakir clamped a hand over her mouth. "Quiet. We don't want them knowing we're here. I bet they're in the art studio, since Crocodette mentioned they were both artists."

"This is really scary," Duck commented, inching down the hallway on her tiptoes.

"It really is," Chibiusa admitted, "but I've done a lot of scary things. We have to be brave so we can help people." She could feel her heart pounding in her chest so hard that she was certain the others could hear it. She peered down one of the hallways. "Hey, Fakir, Duck, look." Down the hall was a massive shadow in the shape of a giant rat. It appeared to be standing, shouting, then fighting something.

"QUAAAAA-" she cut herself off this time by clamping her hands over her mouth.

"I won't let you take my dream!" the voice echoed from somewhere. It was a boy's voice but not one that any of them recognized.

Suddenly several dozen black cats burst out of a nearby room, charging down the hallway. The cats didn't look like cats as much as they did ink drawings of one, moving as if animated by a series of pictures flipped one by one. The trio pressed themselves against the wall as the cats barreled past and towards the shadow of the rat.

Duck gasped as her pendant began to glow. "It's glowing again!"

Fakir stared at it as well. "It's like when we were in the bamboo forest before Chibiusa appeared. Perhaps your pendant can detect errant stories come to life."

"Errant stories?" Chibiusa echoed.

"I'm not really sure," Duck shook her head. "It's detecting something, and it lit up just like this before you showed up as if you were Princess Kaguya. Before it was able to detect heart shards but those are gone since that story has ended."

"Errant stories, huh," Chibiusa repeated, peering down the hallway, seeing the shadow of the rat attacked by something that didn't cast a shadow. It had to be the ink cats. That sounded very familiar, like she'd read about this somewhere before. "Wait, wait, I know this legend. I read about it in class right before I arrived here! It's called _The Boy who drew Cats_. It's said his drawings came alive one night attacked a rat demon!"

"That must be it," Fakir reasoned. "And that voice must be the boy from the story."

"Could it be Senior Artis?" Duck worried.

"We should check it out, Small Lady," Diana urged.

Chibiusa quickly nodded, inching down the hallway more quickly. She could still see the silhouette of the giant rat fighting something. As she approached, she could hear the noises becoming more human-like words.

"Stop being a fool and call off the cats!" the rat hissed. The rat flung several off, the creations flying through the doorway and dissolving into ink and paper as they hit the walls.

"Never, Shobolan!" the boy hissed at her. More cats ran down the hallway past the group outside and into the room.

 _Shobolan has become a rat?_ Chibiusa observed. She scooted close enough to peer into the room. That was definitely the mouse-bun girl now a giant rat. On the far side of the art studio stood Artis with a paintbrush in hand.

"You're trying to take my dream from me!" Artis shouted.

"It's a stupid dream!" Shobolan spat back. "No one wants hundreds of drawings of _cats_!"

"You always liked my cats!" Artis hissed.

This was worse than Chibiusa had imagined. Nothing was right here at all, between their fighting, Shobolan's transformation, and Artis weaponizing his art like in the legend. She scooted back a few inches and out of the view of the doorway. "This isn't right. This isn't right at all. Something's toying with their love and their dreams. We have to do something." She placed a hand on her brooch for a moment before looking back at Duck and Fakir. "Don't tell anyone what you're about to see."

"Wait," Fakir placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't do something careless and stupid."

Chibiusa shook her head quickly. "Let me show you the power I've got in my world." She held her hand up in the air. "Moon Crisis, Make UP!" A light emanated from her brooch. Pink ribbons poured out, changing the appearance of her clothes as she transformed into Super Sailor Moon. She hadn't used the transformation since she'd left for home after fighting Nehellenia. She heard from Usagi that a future form of herself had come to help Eternal Sailor Moon, but Chibiusa hadn't yet attained that Eternal power in her timeline. Even so, she still had the power of love and hopes and dreams that Helios had given her before.

"QUAAAA-" Duck cut herself off by clamping a hand over her mouth. Chibiusa was like her, able to transform into a heroine, but where did that leave Duck? The power she had before was given to her by Drosselmeyer to fulfill the role in the story, but that story had ended. She tapped at the gem. Could she even become Princess Tutu anymore?

"I am the sailor-suited guardian of hopes and dreams, Sailor Chibi Moon!" she introduced herself in the doorway. "It's time to stop fighting and remember who you both truly are!"

"Like hell you're a guardian of hopes and dreams!" Artis shouted. "You're just with Shobolan, trying to steal my dreams!"

"No, that's not it at all!" Chibi Moon protested. "I want to help you both! You shouldn't be fighting like this!"

"Nonsense!" Shobolan hissed. "Maybe I should take you out too for stupid dreams!"

Shobolan leapt forward, reaching out with sharp claws to scratch the pretty guardian and that hopeful look off her face. Chibi Moon dodged backwards, catching her foot on one of the ink cats and toppling to the ground. As Shobolan attempted to take advantage of the situation and claw at Chibi Moon, the pretty guardian summoned her glass kaleidoscope weapon to her hands, guarding against the attack.

"Listen to yourself, Shobolan!" Chibi Moon pleaded. "Miss Crocodette said you were always a nice and hopeful person! I want to believe that you still are, even transformed into a giant rat!"

Shobolan leaned closer, pushing the Chibi Moon Kaleidoscope closer to Chibi Moon. "Crocodette said that?"

"She was really worried about you both!" Chibi Moon added. "So was Miss Malen! They were both worried about you two and your hopes and dreams!" For a moment, Chibi Moon could see the real Shobolan behind the rat she'd become. But as soon as she'd seen it, it was gone.

"Small Lady!" Diana gasped.

"Chibiusa needs our help somehow! But how?" Duck worried, standing at a distance with Fakir. He didn't fight anymore now that he'd rescinded his role as the knight. But that left Duck without anything either. Her role as Tutu had completed. She squeezed her eyes shut. "Hey, Fakir."

Fakir frowned, watching Chibiusa attempt to help the pair. "Yes, Duck?"

Duck leaned against him, opening her eyes and peering up at him. "Can you write something about me?"

"I can still see it, that hope and love within you, Shobolan!" Chibi Moon insisted. "It's that pure love and hope you have with Artis. You both still have that within you, don't you?" She really wasn't sure how to do this. She didn't have the strong healing powers like Sailor Moon did, but there had to be someway that she could help the two of them. There had to be a way to return them back to their true selves.

"Lies!" Artis hissed, quickly drawing his brush across the easel. As he stepped back from his work, the easel began to bend and move, transforming into a giant inky cat. "I won't let you take my dreams from me!" The ink cat leapt forward, intent on taking both Chibi Moon and Shobolan out at the same time.

But as the cat leapt, a flurry of white and pink leapt over Chibi Moon and Shobolan in a grand jeté, intercepting the cat's approach.

"P-princess Tutu!" Chibi Moon gasped. She recognized the white and pink tutu, the little wings on the back and the orange hair with a feathered accents. It was just like the drawing from _The Prince and the Raven_ but now really standing before her. "She's real!"

Fakir sighed in relief, sliding down the wall and sitting on the ground. He hadn't written that fast in a long time, but thank goodness he was still able to write about Duck, putting her hopes and dreams into words. Diana nestled up against him to ensure he was okay.

Tutu landed, raising her arms above her and intertwining her hands for a moment. "Won't you both please dance with me?" She opened her arms out, extending a hand to Shobolan and to Artis.

"Dance?" Shobolan stood up, releasing Chibi Moon from her grip. "I don't even know how!"

"Do not worry," Tutu offered gently. "I'll show you the way."

Almost hesitantly, Shobolan approached. From the other side, Artis did as well.

Chibi Moon sat up, staring at Tutu and the scene unfolding before her. She glanced back towards Fakir and Duck for some sort of explanation. "Wait, where's Duck?"

"Don't worry about it," Fakir shook his head. "Just watch. Whatever's controlling them, Princess Tutu can make visible with her dance."

"Wha...?" Chibi Moon was confused, but then again, she was in a world that still didn't make sense. Anything was possible. She never did read very far into _The Prince and the Raven_ before disappearing into it. She knew nothing about Princess Tutu, just that she was very elegant and beautiful.

And sure enough, the dance of three now taking place in the center of the art studio was nothing short of elegant and beautiful, their hands intertwined and dancing as if they all knew the dance by heart.

"A pas de tois," Fakir noted, "a dance of three." He watched the trio intently. Where was the thing that was causing all the trouble? Just what was it? It couldn't be one of the prince's heart shards causing the pair to feel such strong emotions. That story had concluded, and despite Chibiusa's encounter with Edel in her world, the story hadn't continued. "Why isn't the culprit appearing?"

Chibi Moon frowned a bit. Princess Tutu couldn't keep the pair dancing forever. She'd have to do something to help even though everything was still very much a mystery. _Rely on me._ She hadn't heard that voice for awhile. It was the will of the Chibi Moon Kaleidoscope speaking to her. It had a will since Pegasus had gifted it to her, but it had mostly remained quiet, letting Chibi Moon's heart speak instead.

Taking a knee, she took the Chibi Moon Kaleidoscope in her hand. "Please, Kaleidoscope! Reveal what's destroying their dreams! Moon Dream Meditation!"

A rainbow kaleidoscope of light burst out from behind her. It was a warm and inviting light that flooded the hallway and the room. As soon as it had subsided, the magic had revealed strange leaves stuck to both Shobolan and Artis. Tutu plucked the leaves from them in an arabesque and the two immediately embraced each other.

"I'm so sorry, Artis!" Shobolan wailed as she returned to the girl with the mouse-ear buns. "I love your cat drawings! I want to line my dorm room with them all!"

"Me too!" Artis cried. "Let's never fight again, okay?"

Chibi Moon sighed in relief, dropping to her knees as the two returned to normal. That was intense. She was so used to having Sailor Moon and the other guardians there to help her out. She was now the sole guardian here, but she wasn't alone. She had Princess Tutu and Fakir to help her out.

Tutu glanced back over towards Chibi Moon with a smile. To think the mysterious friend that appeared through a bamboo stalk had magical powers as well, strong ones at that. They had some manner of Spinner on their hands now, but there were more to help solve the mystery. Chibiusa, Fakir, she could rely on them both.

But the source of the skewed dreams was nothing short of confusing. Leaves. Why leaves? She curled her hand around them. She'd keep them safe for now.

… **...**

 **Author's notes**

The Boy Who Drew Cats is an actual Japanese legend and is sometimes called Picture-Cats and the Rat. I used both names as the names of the two chapters involving the story. The names are also symbolic.

Artis – artist in Indonsian

Shobolan – rat in Romanian


	5. Dance of the Dryads

_Chirp chirp chirp! Chirp chirp!_

Chibiusa peeked out from underneath the covers, finding Duck covered in a swarm of hungry birds once again. The events from a few nights ago were still fresh in her mind. Duck was Princess Tutu from the story, the graceful ballerina with the ability to help inspire hope in those around her.

 _Well you see, I was Tutu then the story ended, so I wasn't Tutu anymore. But I asked Fakir to write me back into being Tutu because I didn't want to see you fight them alone,_ Duck had babbled an explanation last night. _But I'm glad. I wanted to fight alongside you, to help save people's dreams, to help them be happy again._

Chibiusa completely understood the sentiment, and she could see it in Duck's eyes that she didn't want to be a bystander. In a way, Chibiusa understood the feeling as well, that feeling of being unable to fight and having to sit there and watch as everyone else protected her. It was how she felt when she first traveled to the 20th century. At times, she still felt like she wasn't that much help, overshadowed by Sailor Moon and Chibiusa's own future self who had fully awoken the power of her pink crystal.

But that was something she could work towards, and she wouldn't be doing it alone. Chibi Moon and Princess Tutu could work together to restore people's hopes and dreams. They also had Fakir, who could help alter some of the story as well. She heard that hevery good researcher, so perhaps he could find the symbolism of the leaves soon.

She peered at Duck's desk. The leaves were sitting in a glass bowl next to an oil lamp that Duck seemed to treasure. She still couldn't understand how leaves were causing such a reaction in those two, making them act out the scene of a Japanese legend.

" _Oh Duck, Chibiusa! If you two wait any longer, you'll be late!"_ Lilie's chipper voice echoed through the door.

"QUAAAAAA-!" Duck cut herself off, fumbling with her clothing. "C'mon, we'll be late!" Duck, Chibiusa, and Diana all stumbled out the door and down the stairs, parting ways in the courtyard to go to different buildings. She nearly collided with Fakir on the dance building's steps. "Oh hi Fakir, I'm totally sorry I wasn't watching where I was going and-"

"You're late again," Fakir sighed. "You have a few minutes to get up to class, at least."

"Oh right, of course you're right, I'll see you later Fakir I don't want to be late!" Duck babbled as she sped past him and up the stairs towards her classroom.

 _And here I thought that maybe Chibiusa would be a good academic influence on her,_ he sighed to himself, peering back out the front doors. It was stormy weather again and had been for the past several days. He couldn't quite recall a time where the skies were anything but clear other than when the Raven had made his appearance. But no one except Fakir and Duck remembered that last part.

"There you are, Fakir."

He turned, stirring from his thoughts, finding a girl with long brown hair tucked into a large bun standing behind him. "Hey Illia."

"I was hoping I'd find you," she smiled at him. "We still need to practice for our roles as Kaguya and the Bamboo Cutter. I was hoping you'd be in today. Some people are becoming spooked by the storm and staying home."

"No storm's going to deter me," Fakir stated. "I'll be right there." He'd been carrying on this scripted life for now, auditioning for the lead role in the Princess Kaguya ballet. Unsurprisingly he had earned it, having little competition from the other male dancers, including that weird Femio who liked to paint himself when dancing. Mytho was the only one who seemed to best him every time, but now he was back in his story where he belonged. Fakir would simply have to dance the roles in his stead.

...

"And one and two and one and two!" Mr. Cat counted the beats for them.

Fakir followed the tune, supporting Illia as she pirouetted and then ended with an arabesque. He could feel her supporting leg a bit unsteady as she stopped and leaned into him for support instead of standing on her toes alone.

"No no, Miss Illia ," Mr. Cat chided her. "You have to arabesque straight from the turn. Use the momentum and rely on Fakir to stop your movement."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Cat," she apologized. "Can I try that again?"

"Yes, yes, take it from the entrance into the pirouettes," Mr. Cat nodded.

Fakir and Illia both backed up to the entrance, entering together in a flowing movement, separate yet in sync with one another. Fakir couldn't deny that Illia was a very elegant dancer, but since the stormy weather began, she'd been having some troubles.

Illia, along with many of the classmates present today, had always been in the same class ever since Fakir had first attended the Academy. A good number were absent today, probably avoiding the stormy weather, leaving the more obnoxious ones to interrupt the class with whispers and giggles.

Regardless, Illia had kept up with the dance quite easily, showing her skill and elegance as she moved nearly effortlessly on the pointe shoes. Fakir didn't have the same emotion when he danced with Duck or Tutu, but she was still a very skilled partner, standing tall and strong. He wasn't doing it for the emotion, anyway. He'd save that for dancing with Duck.

As he turned her in the pirouettes, he could feel her becoming unstable again until she'd completely tipped over, falling unconscious. "Illia!" He knelt down, resting her body against his leg as he attempted to wake her.

"Looks like tipsy Illia has done it again," a deer-like student jeered.

"Anyone else would've been a better partner for Fakir," the bunny-like student laughed.

"Enough!" Fakir hissed at the pair. Shifting his arms, he cradled her as he stood up. "Mr. Cat, I'd like to take her to the clinic. Hopefully someone can find the reason why she's having these fainting episodes."

"Go right ahead, Mr. Fakir," Mr. Cat nodded. "I'd hate to have to recast the role to one of these underachievers. I'd rather her well."

Fakir quickly left the studio, hearing the classmates hiss about being called underachievers. In the distance, he was certain that he could hear Mr. Cat threatening to marry them again. He slumped into the chair in the clinic while Illia rested in the bed, listening to the rain pour down outside the window.

The nurses had laid a compress on her forehead, tucking her under the covers for rest. She finally stirred, tilting her head slightly to the side. "It happened again, didn't it?"

Fakir nodded.

"I'm so sorry, Fakir," she apologized. "I keep having these fainting episodes. You deserve a better dance partner."

Fakir frowned sharply. "They want me to do all the work and none of it themselves."

"They weren't always so bad," Illia attempted to reason with the situation.

"I know, it's just lately all they want to do is criticize," Fakir wrinkled his nose. "Petty jealousy of the prima ballerina. Anyway, hopefully we'll be able to find a reason as to why you're having these episodes."

"It's not the first time," Illia frowned a bit. "Back when I was younger, back before you joined the Academy, I was terrified of the rain. And when it would rain, I'd get frightened and faint. Deeria, Bearella, and Bunette used to tease me all the time about it, but then when we got older, the episodes stopped. I didn't think it'd start up again, especially not at a time like this."

"Hopefully these storms will pass soon," Fakir reasoned, "then the episodes may pass too."

"I'm worried that they might not," Illia confessed. "I'd have to drop out of the ballet and possibly the Academy as well. And you'd be stuck with a different partner, trying to learn the entire performance all over again."

"Not happening," Fakir stated sharply. "I'd rather dance with Duck. At least she wants this badly."

Illia recalled the rather awkward orange-haired dancer from the auditions. She barely could pull off an arabesque gracefully but she was trying more passionately than any of Illia's own classmates currently were. "She would've been a great partner with some practice. I just wish our classmates had her passion. I'm not sure what happened lately. They just have lost their love of ballet suddenly. It's like the rain has washed it away. Or perhaps it's that art student Gene they've been obsessing about lately."

Fakir stared at the clinic door. He had noticed it lately too, the lack of compassion in their class. It hadn't been that way during the auditions for the ballet. Everyone had danced so passionately, desiring that central role of the titular character, that coveted spot as the prima ballerina. Was there another story pulling the strings like with Shobolan and Artis? He couldn't think of a story that involved rain and a lack of compassion. He'd simply have to see it through until things escalated. He hated waiting so much, but what choice was there at the moment? He still hadn't found any clues as to what those leaves were or who was spinning these new tales.

Fakir stood up, adjusting his shirt and ballet shoes. "I'm going to head back to class. Get some rest. I'll speak to Mr. Cat about the situation."

"Fakir..." she smiled meekly. "I don't want to give up this role yet. I want to continue dancing with you despite the fainting spells."

"I know." He nodded, opening the door to find three of his classmates pressed against it. They tumbled forward, Bearella nearly taking him out if he'd not leapt backwards quickly. "What are you three doing?" he hissed. "We have practice, stop slacking off!"

Bearella picked herself up, straightening out her dress and fur with her paws. "There's that sharp wit we all know and love. For a moment there, I thought you'd gone soft on Fainty over there."

Bunette hopped back up to her feet, pulling at her tights ungracefully. "I don't know why you even bother, Fakir. She'll never dance as well as we do." She peered around Fakir to see that Illia had fallen unconscious again. "See? She can't even stay awake for five minutes!"

"Class has been cancelled today. You should dance with us instead!" Deeria demanded, shoving her snout forward and into Fakir's face. "We'd make such better partners than she ever would. It would be the dance of the forest spirits, graceful and elegant dryads!"

Fakir frowned. They _were_ acting strangely, more obsessive and pushy than normal. They were Illia's friends and they were showing her nothing but ire. Perhaps there was something altering the story again, much like with Shobolan and Artis, but who was the one acting out the play and who was a victim of circumstance? Either way, the three of them were grating on his nerves. "Get out of my way," Fakir hissed.

"Oh so sharp!" Bearella jeered.

"GET OUT!" Fakir hissed, shoving the three and closing the clinic door behind him. The trio quickly scampered off down the hallway, leaving the echoes of their laughter behind them. Fakir sighed, quickly turning as he heard frantic chirping behind him. In the hallway stood Duck. A robin in a boy's uniform sat perched on her head. He was currently chirping away frantically. Robin was one of music students who often paired with the piano player in the ballet classes as a page turner. Robin was also a notorious gossip.

"Are you okay, Fakir?" Duck worried. "Senior Robin told me that your classmate fainted and that I could find you here."

"Yeah," Fakir sighed, his demeanor shifting to something more pleasant now that the trio had left. "I'm more concerned about Illia. She's been having fainting spells lately."

"She used to have them a lot when we were kids," Robin chirped. "I just thought they stopped. I'm really worried about her."

"She told me about them in her small bout of consciousness," Fakir recalled. "She's resting now, so hopefully they'll pass soon."

Robin spread his wings, taking off and landing on Fakir's shoulder. "You know, she really wants this role."

"I can tell," Fakir nodded. "She dances so passionately when we're practicing. I'm going to talk to Mr. Cat later to tell him what's going on. I'd rather dance this with her than anyone else in our class. They've lost their passion."

Duck pushed her lips together a bit. She was jealous that Illia was dancing with Fakir instead of her, but she couldn't deny that Illia was really good. Even Duck could see the passion in her movements.

"They're all too busy obsessing over that new student, Gene," Robin sighed. "I really don't know what his appeal is."

Fakir recalled the name. There was something about this Gene person that didn't sit right with him. "Illia mentioned him. You know who he is?"

"I do," Robin nodded. "I've seen him a few times. I can point him out to you."

With Robin still sitting on his shoulder, Fakir left for the art building. Duck quickly followed him, curious who this person might be. The art classes were ending and many of the students were leaving for the day.

"The one with the brown hair in that weird upturned curl," Robin pointed him out with a wing. "That's him."

Fakir scanned the crowd, quickly finding the indicated person. He did have a weird curl on his head, curling upward and forward, making a weird ring of a bang that somehow stayed perfect even in the rainy weather. Yet more noticeable than his hair was the swath of girls, including the three ballet dancers from his class, trying to get his attention. "He's a regular Don Juan, isn't he?"

Duck leapt up a few times, trying to catch a glimpse of him. As the crowd began to thin, she could see him between the people as he passed. "He doesn't look special at all."

"That's just it," Robin continued. "He attracts women in droves, but he's obsessed with only one. Illia."

"With Illia?" Fakir echoed. "Why her?"

"Apparently he's obsessed with her dancing," Robin recalled the rumors.

"That explains why the class is angry with her," Fakir reasoned. "But isn't she dating someone already?"

"Josie in the theater division," Robin replied. "They've been dating for years. I'm concerned that he may turn his droves against Illia in order to force her to date him."

"That sounds terribly mean!" Duck commented. "Why would anyone do that? They should date who they love, not force someone to marry them like Mr. Cat does."

Somewhere across campus, Mr. Cat's ears twitched.

"I should probably flit off," Robin announced. "Rumors won't spread by themselves." The little bird spread his wings, flying off towards the gathering of students.

"What are you three looking at?" Chibiusa peered up at Duck and Fakir curiously, Diana mimicking the expression as she nestled in Chibiusa's hair.

"One of your seniors," Fakir replied. "There's something about him that bothers me. I think there's another tale controlling people again, but I just can't figure out which one. We'll have to let this one play out and see where it goes."

Chibiusa frowned a bit, peering off towards the target in question. Another story possibly at play already? The guy didn't exactly seem normal with that weird upturned curl, but everyone was weird. She'd already learned that from sitting next to Crocodette. "Wherever it goes, we'll be ready to stop it."

 **...**

 **Author's musings**

Robin is the embodiment of "a little bird told me"


	6. The Enchanted Forest

Chibiusa peered across the art studio. It was another joint art session, and across the room sat the class a few grades above hers. There he was, the one that had raised a lot of flags in Fakir's mind. Gene sat at the edge of the room, a multitude of girls surrounding him. They had scooted their easels and stools closer to him just so they could bask in his supposed glory.

 _He's really nothing special_ , Chibiusa wrinkled her nose.

"I was hoping to have lessons outside today, but it seems that the rain just won't stop falling," Miss Kitter explained. "So we'll continue our focus on the study of movement and color. I've made a quick request, and managed to get us the leads from the ballet troupe's production of _Princess Kaguya_ in full costume to come pose for us."

"The leads?" Momoko echoed, leaning around her easel. "Chibiusa, isn't one of them your friend Senior Fakir?"

"He is," Chibiusa nodded, "with Miss Illia."

Fakir entered with Illia, the two bowing to the class as an introduction. They were dressed in a colorful combination of Japanese and ballet attire. Fakir had on the top of a men's kimono, decorated in brilliant blue, tucked into a pair of traditional pants that puffed out then drew in tight at the knee. Illia had a short kimono crisscrossed over a more traditional ballet tutu, the skirt made of layered leaf-like patterns. She had on a thin obi with a large bow knot to keep the kimono closed tight as she moved.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright, Illia?" Fakir asked her quietly.

"It's just simple poses," she replied. "If it's not too strenuous, I should be okay until the rain passes. I want to show everyone I still want this role."

"If you feel faint, we'll request a break," Fakir added, stepping onto the stage and offering a hand to Illia. She spotted Gene up in the group, quickly turning away and back to Fakir. Fakir glanced up to the audience.

"Something about that Gene guy bothers you, doesn't he?" He pointed his front foot forward, tilting slightly forward and rounding his arms. Illia mirrored his position as they posed for the start of the pas de deux between the bamboo cutter and the princess.

She looked towards him as part of the pose and to continue talking quietly as the artists worked on their drawings. "He's been stalking me for the past few days, trying to peek on our practice sessions and sending me love letters I don't want. I've even told Miss Bottom the donkey to burn all his letters."

"That's worse than even Robin had described," Fakir observed, keeping his expression pleasant and loving to keep in character with the bamboo cutter. "I know he's new, but has he always been this way?"

"I have no idea," Illia replied. "I didn't even know who he was until a few days ago."

Fakir took a guess. "When the rain started and the fainting spells began again?"

"Sounds about right," Illia tried to recall. "I feel like he's staring at me right now."

"Just focus on the dance," Fakir encouraged her. He shifted his stance, taking a more supportive position as she releved and leaned into him.

"I don't understand why you're so nice to me sometimes," Illia commented, leaning into him for support. She hadn't felt any strain yet, but she had to make sure she wouldn't have a fainting episode in the middle of art class.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Fakir nearly broke character. Perhaps he had become nicer than he thought, but it was likely limited to those who didn't annoy him and Duck. He had been nice to Chibiusa as well, but she had been helping to try to solve the current story that seemed to be controlling the world once again.

He spun her around on her toes, wrapping an arm around her back as she bent backwards with her arms raised above her head.

"I've had enough of this charade!"

"Mr. Gene!" Miss Kitter hissed.

"I won't have him handle her like this!" Gene shouted. "Illia should be _mine_!"

Illia nearly lost her pose with the outburst if Fakir hadn't had such a good grip on her back. She rolled upwards, placing one hand on his shoulder and the other on her forehead.

Fakir could feel her waver in his grip. He pulled her close to steady her, glaring back up into the audience. Was this Gene the cause of the fainting spells returning? Was he the storybook character who had gotten out of control? "I apologize, Miss Kitter. Illia isn't feeling well. I'm going to take her to the clinic."

Miss Kitter pawed at her whiskers in worry.

"It's probably something she ate," Fakir lied, picking up Illia in his arms. He glanced up to the back of the classroom where Chibiusa sat, nodding slightly to the side then quickly exiting the art studio.

"I'm... I'm really sorry about this, Fakir," Illia apologized, grabbing at his shirt. "I don't know what's going on anymore. This isn't like before. I'm not that frightened child anymore. Something's wrong..."

"This isn't your fault," Fakir stated sharply. That Gene was definitely involved in this somehow, and perhaps if he could separate Illia from him, he might be able to understand what story was at play here. He pushed open the doors to the art building with his shoulder, nearly tripping over his own feet in surprise. "What in the world?" The courtyard no longer lay outside the doors but a massive forest covered in fog.

Illia shifted just slightly to see what had shocked Fakir. "Since when was there a forest here?"

"So the story has finally progressed," he muttered to himself.

"A story?" Illia echoed.

"Nevermind," he shook his head, turning to go back inside, but as soon as he turned, the building had also disappeared. He was no longer leaning against the door but instead a rather large tree branch hanging close to the ground.

Illia managed to regain her bearings, carefully standing on the ground before releasing Fakir's shirt. "Do you recall the first ballet we ever danced in our class?"

" _The Enchanted Forest_ ," Fakir recalled. "Where the prima ballerina, Ilka, gets lost in a forest in Hungary and is courted by the Genie of the Forest." That was it, wasn't it? Gene was the Genie, obsessed with Illia to a point where it was physically causing her to faint, just like in the ballet. So that was the story at play here, this time a ballet instead of a foreign legend. "Certainly sounds like the situation we're in right now, doesn't it?"

"It really does," Illia agreed. The sound of breaking branches nearby caught her attention.

"Someone's coming," Fakir grabbed her by the waist and ducked behind a large tree.

"Illia, oh Illia!" one of the girls called. "Come on out! We're here to take you back to Gene!"

"Don't make us wait, Illia," another called out. "It's so rude!"

Illia could feel her heart racing. She leaned into Fakir, gripping his shirt. "Please don't let them take me," she whispered. It really was like _The Enchanted Forest_ and she'd been unwillingly cast as Ilka.

Fakir grabbed a branch as he heard the girls approach. "Stay here, Illia. I'll try to fend them off until help arrives." He stepped out from behind the tree to stop the approaching girls. Among the approach were Deeria, Bearella, and Bunette, their three classmates, along with a handful of other girls from different classes, all dressed in flowing attire that made them look like nymphs.

 _The Dance of the Dryads from the ballet, is it? I'll have to delay them as long as I can until Tutu and Chibi Moon get here._ He'd take on the role of the knight temporarily as this knight was currently without paper and a quill. "This stops here."

 **...**

 **Author's ramblings**

So the story finally reveals itself. _The Enchanted Forest_ is a weird old ballet that involves strange fantastical things of dryads, forest creatures, genies, and weird fainting spells. How could I not include such a weird story?


	7. Genie of the Forest

"I swear I saw them go out the door!" Chibiusa wrinkled her nose. "I know I did! Fakir even nodded to the side like he knew something was up. I just can't figure out where they went!"

"I checked the clinic already, because I was pretty sure they were there when I heard what happened but nothing there either," Duck shook her head, worried.

"There's something about that guy in my class, the one that seems to attract all the girls," Chibiusa added. "He started shouting and Miss Illia didn't look well. That's when Fakir indicated I should follow them."

"I bet there's a story at play here too," Duck reasoned. "Fakir probably realized what it was, but I'm still not sure what it could be."

"I can't think of any legends from home that would cause someone to faint," Chibiusa shook her head. "But even so, we need to figure out where they went, and I think we need our magic to do this."

The two nodded both transforming in a flash of light and ribbons.

"I think we should get a higher view," Chibi Moon suggested, leaping up towards the roof of the building. "They couldn't have gone far, we should be able to see them." She worried for the worst. That Gene person was pretty obsessive. If he was now pursuing them to fulfill a role in a story, this could be dangerous for both Illia and for Fakir. They had to find the pair fast.

Tutu nodded, pirouetting upwards as well, trying to get a better view. They had to find Fakir and Illia somehow. The sooner, the better.

...

"Just how long do you think you can keep this up, Fakir?" Bunette taunted as she and the other girls were pirouetting in circles around him like wild animals surrounding their prey.

So far, Fakir had managed to keep them occupied, but there were just so many of them, he wasn't certain how long he could keep this up. The girls behind him whipped their legs out, striking him in the back as they turned and eventually pulling the stick from his hand. He'd been hesitant to fight them with his full strength. It was much easier to fight the crows and manifestations of stories, but these were his classmates simply fulfilling the roles of errant stories. He didn't care much for them, but they were still unwillingly cast in the part.

So he simply continued do what he also knew best, and that was to dance. They were acting as part of a ballet, so a stick for a sword naturally wouldn't do him much good. He could outdance the lot of them, but only for so long. Hopefully Chibi Moon and Princess Tutu would be able to locate this forest, if it weren't just outside the door still. He spun around, leaping backwards to evade their assault and grand jetés.

"Where is she?!" Bearella demanded, lashing out at Fakir with her claws. "Bring her to us!"

He dodged several times, but with the last swipe, she managed to snag his leg, causing him to lose his balance as the claws ripped right through the tights. His knee buckled, quickly taking him to the ground. "You won't find her that way." He attempted to push himself back up, but his knee was badly damaged. This was much easier when he still had his sword, but that thing was long gone, lost in another story.

"You don't belong in this story," a voice hissed. The girls ceased their pirouetting, separating to allow a boy in the school's uniform approach.

"Gene," Fakir hissed. "Or should I say, the Genie of the Forest? You can call off your little Dryads. You aren't going to get Illia."

"You're hardly one in a position to tell _me_ what to do!" Gene boasted. "Damage that leg anymore and you won't be able to dance ever again!"

Gene wasn't wrong. Fakir's leg was badly damaged to a point he may have to withdraw from the performance. He stared down at the dirt for a moment. At this rate, they'd probably take his leg and Illia with it even before Tutu and Chibi Moon had found the forest.

He stared at the dirt some more. He wasn't completely defenseless right now. The entirety of the dirt was his canvas, the forest floor a veritable page to be written upon. Sticking his finger in the dirt, he scribbled several lines quickly. "Don't think this is over just yet, Gene, or have you forgotten how the story goes?"

Gene leapt forward, pressing his foot down on Fakir's hand. "Don't think some little chicken scratch is going to save you! Now tell me where Illia is!"

Fakir laughed. "Oh what am I thinking? Of course you don't know, yet, do you?"

"WHERE IS SHE!?" Gene repeated himself.

Fakir glared up at Gene, knowing full well how the ballet was progressing. In the original story, the mortals came and chased off the woodland creatures and dryads, the Genie fleeing deep within the forest when Ilka was rescued rescued. Fakir had been inserted into the story accidentally due to his involvement with Illia and his attempt to uncover the true story controlling their actions. But Fakir was a Spinner. He could alter stories to a certain extent, and that extent had just arrived.

"Stop!" Princess Tutu leapt over the dancing forest creatures and dryads, landing next to the fallen Fakir and in front of Gene. Chibi Moon hadn't been far behind, using her gained strength as a sailor guardian to follow quickly and leap over the gathered dancers as well.

Tutu wound her hands above her head before offering one to Gene. "Gene, won't you dance with me?"

Gene attempted to protest but quickly conceded, taking Tutu's hand and beginning to dance a ballet waltz with her to some unheard song. The gathered girls began to mimic the actions, dancing solo waltzes in a circle with them.

"How do you really feel about Illia?" Tutu asked, pirouetting as Gene turned with her. "Do you love her?"

"I just want her because she's beautiful," Gene replied without hesitation.

"Have you considered how she truly feels?" Tutu leaned forward into a deep arabesque.

Gene didn't reply, simply frowning instead.

"Perhaps there is someone else there for you, someone who you truly love," Tutu continued, lowering her leg and leaning backwards into a deep bend. "And someone who will truly love you in return. Illia's heart belongs to someone else right now, someone she loves with all her heart." Tutu straightened up, leaning towards Gene once again. "What is it you truly dream about doing?"

"Dream about?" Gene echoed, pondering the question. "I want to paint beautiful things and bring out the beauty in art. That's all I want to do."

Chibi Moon knelt down next to Fakir, helping him to a seated position. "You're badly injured."

"Don't worry about that right now," he protested. "We'll need to stop this story first. It's a ballet known as _The Enchanted Forest_ , and Gene seems to be acting out one of the major parts. Illia seems to be more of a victim of circumstance, caught unwittingly in the lead female role."

Chibi Moon watched as everyone around her danced along. This time, the story was a ballet instead of a Japanese legend. She'd never really heard of the ballet before, not that she was well-versed in classical performances, but people's dreams were being altered. They had to stop this story from progressing too far.

She watched as Tutu danced with everyone, seeing for a moment a second image that looked almost like just a shadow of Gene. "Do you see that? That duplicate?"

"Tutu must've been able to bring out whatever story was controlling them," Fakir reasoned.

Tutu reached forward, touching the double image. "I see that you aren't Gene's true dreams. Won't you come with me instead?" The double stared at her for a moment before reaching out, turning into green glitter before becoming several leaves in her hand. Gene collapsed to the ground, as did the girls who had played the part of the woodland creatures, and the illusion of the forest began to fade. They were on the northern edge of Gold Crown Town just outside the gate. It was a real forest, but nothing quite as unsettling as it was with the story playing out.

"Fakir!" Tutu took a knee next to him. "You're injured!"

"It's all my fault," Illia peered out from behind the nearby tree, approaching as soon as she noticed the battle had ceased. "Because you tried to protect me, your leg is badly injured. I don't want you to drop out of the performance."

Chibi Moon knit her eyebrows in worry. She didn't want Fakir to need to withdraw from the ballet. From what little she'd seen of his dancing, she could tell that he loved the art and she didn't want to see him stop dancing. She tapped her compact and opened it, pulling a brilliant pink crystal from within. "I want to see you continue to dance, Fakir." She wasn't even sure if this'd work. She didn't have as strong healing powers as Usagi or Mama or even that future awoken self she'd heard about. Right now, all she had was her desire to protect people's hopes and dreams.

The crystal began to respond to her heart as she placed it next to his leg. The light was bright and warm with a slightly pink hue reflecting her true self. She wanted to see him dance. She wanted him to be okay after trying to protect Illia and stop the story himself. She wanted to help him. And sure enough, as the light subsided, the deep scratches from Bearella had healed, leaving only an ache from the encounter behind.

...

Chibiusa and Duck watched the practice from the balcony over the ballet studio. Below them, Fakir and Illia were practicing their pas de deux between the bamboo cutter and the princess as the sun shone through the window, casting shadows as they moved.

"I'm so glad that they're both able to dance now," Chibiusa admitted, leaning on the railing. "I was so worried that Fakir would never dance again."

"Wish it were me dancing with Fakir," Duck pouted.

"Oh look at our poor Duck!" Lilie snagged Duck, squishing and pulling her face with her hands. "Such raging jealousy! Your boyfriend is dancing so beautifully with another girl!"

"You're making mountains out of molehills, Lilie," Pike chided.

"No really, I'm okay, Lilie," Duck protested between moments of her face getting pulled. "I'm just happy Fakir and Miss Illia are dancing." Between the story controlling the people involved, Illia's fainting spells, and the injury to Fakir's knee, she was worried that the ballet would be cancelled. Sure, she wanted to dance with Fakir, but she also wanted to be better at ballet before she could dance like Illia could. And for that, she'd have to actually get out of the probationary class and get on pointe.

"Oh look at you dear Duck, trying to reason with things~" Lilie teased.

"Quiet up there!" Mr. Cat hissed. "Because if you don't, I'll force you all to MAAAARRRYYYY MEEEEEE!" But as soon as he'd uttered the words of marriage, the audience had completely fled, leaving nothing behind in their wake.

 **...**

 **Author's ramblings**

Chibiusa's crystal ends up being pink by the time she awakens as Eternal Chibi Moon. I like to think that by the end of SuperS, her crystal starts reflecting her heart and begins to shine pink as well.

I also like to think that by the end of the series, Fakir can write on pretty much everything to spin stories.


	8. The Rose, the Violet, and the Butterfly

Chibiusa stared. And stared and stared and stared.

"What are you watching?" Duck whispered. She sat near the gardens of the Academy where she had first met Freya.

"Shhhhh," Chibiusa shushed her. She'd situated herself in the garden, her sketchbook in her lap as she intently stared at the roses in the garden.

Duck didn't get it. She stared at the roses so intently she thought her brain would melt. But her diligence paid off as a pair of butterflies soon emerged from the field of roses, dancing together. They spun around each other, almost like a pair dancing a pas de deux. So that was what Chibiusa had spotted. She quietly watched as the pair danced some more then flitted off. "It was like they were dancing ballet!"

Chibiusa quickly took to sketching, doodling the butterflies emerging from the roses. "Miss Kitter wants us to study movement, and since it's such a nice day, I thought that looking for butterflies would be a great idea."

"They sure are pretty cool," Duck nodded, watching the pair of butterflies land at another rose. They reminded her of the way Fakir and Illia were dancing the pas de deux while practicing for the stage performance. She wanted to dance with Fakir that way again, like they did in the bottom of the lake. She had to get better at ballet so she could be a good partner for him.

Duck stood up suddenly. "I want to get good at ballet so I can dance like those butterflies!" She wanted to dance like she felt when she was Tutu. She shifted her weight, drawing one foot up into an awkward arabesque. Her supporting leg wobbled and buckled a bit until she fell forward into someone. "QUAAA-" her exclamation was cut off as her face merged with someone's shirt.

"Do be careful, Duck."

Duck stumbled backwards, attempting to recover from her fall. "That really scared me, but I'm glad you were there to catch me, Miss Freya!"

Chibiusa stared up at the blonde upperclassman. Freya sure was pretty with her long hair, reminding her of Minako, but she also carried a watering, reminding her of Makoto's green thumb. Chibiusa had seen her briefly on the far end of the gardens when she first sat down. She'd been certain Freya had left the gardens a while ago.

"Your roses are attracting so many butterflies," Duck blurted out. "They're so pretty and they dance like ballerinas and it's really neat to see them dancing together like Fakir and Illia are doing while practicing for the next ballet."

Freya smiled with a bit of a laugh at how Duck could simply run on sentences so easily. "I have been hoping to attract more butterflies to the garden." She blushed a bit at the thought.

"I'm kinda surprised you didn't audition for the role of Kaguya," Duck rambled on. "You're really good and passionate, even when you auditioned to dance with Mytho before and won first place so easily."

"I wanted to focus on the garden a bit," Freya admitted. "And Illia is well suited for a leading role. She dances so beautifully and passionately. I'm happy to see her succeed. I'll simply compete against her for the next performance."

"I wanna see that competition," Duck nodded assuredly. "I bet it'll be really amazing with you two dancing against each otherrrQUA-" She clamped her hand over her mouth as she saw a giant butterfly boy descend into the garden.

Chibiusa nearly dropped her sketchpad. This place was weird.

"I'm sorry I really wasn't expecting that," Duck apologized.

"That's Papillio," Freya turned, trying to hide her blushing. "He's a flower arranging student who loves to visit the garden. I've wanted to keep the garden fresh for him."

"Flower arranging?" Chibiusa watched Papillio kneel down and inspect the beautiful flowers. It made sense for a butterfly to be skilled in the art of flower arranging. She had no idea that ikebana was even taught here.

"I had no idea there was flower arranging here," Duck marveled.

"You should come to the flower show tomorrow night," Freya invited the pair. "Papillio is headlining."

"Beautiful flowers as always, Freya!" Papillio called out to her.

"T-take as many as you like," Freya stammered. "I know they'll be happy to be used in such beautiful art."

Papillio leaned over, plucking only a pair of hyacinth from the ground. "I shall bring you more bulbs to replace these tomorrow!"

"I'll make sure to tend them until they bloom beautifully again," Freya waved him off before turning to bury her face in her hands.

"Miss Freya, are you okay?" Duck asked in concern.

"Someone's in love," Diana blurted out.

"I-i-i-it's not like that," Freya objected before almost immediately conceding. "No, no, it is like that."

"But you still can't have him."

Duck nearly stumbled in surprise as the words echoed in the garden. Behind her stood an upperclassman with brilliant purple hair pulled back into a low ponytail. She approached, shoving Duck out of the way.

"Papillio is mine," Violeta stated forcefully, shoving her face into Freya's. "I plan to confess my feelings for him at the show tomorrow. Don't get in my way, flower child."

Freya wrinkled her nose. "You're only doing this because I already announced I would confess my feelings at the art show."

"Well I can't have you take him from me," Violeta wrinkled her nose in anger. "We'll confess our love and he'll choose who he wants. But of course it'll be me. I'm definitely much prettier and skilled in arranging the flowers. You just make flowers grow."

"Flower growing takes lots of love!" Duck attempted to defend Freya.

"No one asked you to but in, duck-lipped child," Violeta hissed, scowling at Duck for a moment before turning on her toes and stalking out of the gardens.

"Oh what am I going to do?" Freya knit her eyebrows in worry.

"Confess your love!" Chibiusa encouraged her. "Offer him something from your heart, something that only you would think to give him. That way, he'll know it comes from true love and emotions!"

"Something only I'd give him," Freya thought for a moment. She had to consider the possibilities. Violeta shared flower arranging with Papillio. She only shared flowers with him. But there was something she had that Violeta did not. The gardens.

"Surely there's something that would be meaningful to only you two!" Duck chimed in.

"Something only meaningful to us," Freya pursed her lips together a bit. "He and Violeta share so much. Flower arranging, art class, even the show tomorrow. It's not as if I could give him a dance. That wouldn't fit."

"Well you goth love flowers," Chibiusa pointed out. "And your garden is beautiful. He even mentioned bringing you bulbs to keep your flowers growing. What if you gave him his own flowers?" She immediately thought of Papa. He gave Mama roses several times. That seemed like the thing people do to show their love to each other.

"Well he could come pick his own," Duck pursed her lips together like a duck.

"I think you might be on to something, Chibiusa," Freya pondered the thought. "Perhaps there is something I can do for him, something that Violeta never could."

"That's the spirit, Miss Freya!" Chibiusa cheered her on.

"Alright," Freya nodded with certainty. "I'll give him a gift from my heart tomorrow. It'll be something that only I would give him."

Chibiusa smiled brightly. The feeling of love in the air was a great thing. "I'm sure it'll be great!"

 **...**

 **Author's musings**

Chibiusa the matchmaker! But a champion of love and justice surely would know more about love than most! After all, she has a love of her own. A certain someone that is always in the back of her mind, waiting for her to call for him.

This mini story was originally meant to be one chapter, but I ended up writing 9 pages. Oops.


	9. The Butterfly and the Flowers

Duck stood at the entrance of the flower arranging show with Chibiusa and Diana. Neither had dressed too formally, but neither really had any formal clothes. Chibiusa planned ahead, tucking a small sketchbook and pencil into her pockets. She wanted to doodle some flowers while she was listening in on the love confessions. She was certain that Freya would confess her love so strongly that Papillio would choose her. Violeta just seemed more obsessed than actually in love.

"I'm surprised Fakir isn't coming," Chibiusa commented. "Is he at practice?"

Duck shook her head. "He's in the library. He wanted to try to find information on what these leaves we keep finding are. Before it was easy, there were crow feathers, but these leaves are super confusing."

"They have to mean something," Chibiusa agreed. "I'm glad we have Fakir helping out. He's super smart."

"Fakir's always good with books and figuring things out. He even figured out I was Tutu before," Duck nodded assuredly. "He'll figure something out soon, I'm sure of it."

Chibiusa nodded, quickly agreeing. Fakir was really smart. Part of her wanted to ask if he'd tutor her, but Gold Crown Academy didn't seem to have any hard subjects like kanji or science. But then again, kanji was really hard to deal with anyway. "Let's go look at the flower show!"

With a nod from both, the two girls bound up the stairs and into the building. The show took up one of the larger art studios just off campus. The stands and displays were decorated with flowers arranged in various styles, many of them resembling the Japanese style of ikebana. They spotted Papillio at the far end, standing against the wall with his butterfly wings out on display as he showed off his creations.

"Wow they're all so pretty!" Chibiusa marveled as they began admiring each design from the entrance. "Listen to this one: ' _The flowers are intertwined, dancing together like a pas de deux as they display their own sense of beauty._ ' It's like they're describing a dance."

"I never really thought of flowers dancing," Duck tilted her head, attempting to understand how they were dancing. The stems were intertwined and braided into a chain-like pattern. In a way, it did look like two ballerinas with their arms and legs intertwined in a passionate pas de deux if she stared at it hard enough. It was almost like the fish dive that Fakir had her do when they were posing for the drawing classes. That required a lot of intertwining and trust and support from each person. "I can kinda see it."

"This next one looks like butterflies!" Chibiusa marveled. "Look at how these flowers look like they're flying."

"It's like the butterflies you were watching in the roses!" Duck agreed. "Now _this_ is pretty neat. It looks like ballet shoes the way the flowers were placed."

"'Lady Slippers'," Chibiusa read the description. "They're a type of orchid that are delicate but beautiful. This person must've taken so much care to grow these."

"They really do look like ballet shoes!" Duck nodded several times. In a way, they looked like Tutu's, a brilliant and beautiful pink poised in perfect pointe. For a moment she pondered if they were inspired by Tutu, but she didn't recognize the name. Perhaps they were inspired by ballet in general. She turned a bit, hearing someone walk past them. "Look, it's Freya."

Chibiusa turned a bit, peering over her shoulder and trying not to be obvious. "She has something for him and Violeta is nowhere in sight. Now's her chance to pursue love."

Freya approached Papillio, who had been standing alone at the far end of the room. "I have something for you, Papillio." She offered him a small packet with a large heart drawn in ink over it. "You love flowers so much, I have some seeds for you so you can grow some of your own on your windowsil."

Papillio stared at the seeds in his hands. "This is very thoughtful of you."

"It's very stupid!" Violeta interrupted. "If this is my competition, then I might as well not have any."

"Competition?" Papillio questioned.

"It's not like that at all," Freya protested. "I just... I... I love you and your love of flowers..."

"That's so stupid," Violeta criticized. "Your love is not true like mine is."

"I do not wish to be caught in the middle of some competition for my affection," Papillio interjected. "We can remain friends, but I would not have anything more."

Freya felt her heart sink. It stung, but at least he didn't fully turn her away. "Please... please enjoy the seeds and my garden." She quickly turned on her toes practically leaping out the door in a hurry.

"I'm so disappointed," Violeta scoffed, quickly turning on her heels and marching out the door.

"Poor Freya," Chibiusa empathized. "Her intentions were so pure, but I can't really blame Papillio either. Violeta turned this into a game."

"Chibiusa," Duck grabbed at her sleeve. "The gem is glowing."

Chibiusa glanced at Duck's pendant then at the door. "Could they be acting out a play? Poor Freya. We'll need to do something so she doesn't lose her dreams." The two headed out the door, immediately greeted by an overwhelming amount of oversized roses, daisies, and violets. Freya stood on one side of the garden in a red tutu reaching nearly the ground, decorated in roses. The opposite side stood Violeta in a purple tutu covered in violets.

The two began dancing fiercely against each other, weaponizing their arabesques and jetes.

"I heard about this ballet in class," Duck realized. "It's called _La Rose, la violette et le papillon_ \- The Rose, The Violet, and The Butterfly!" In a flurry of light and feathers, Duck transformed into Princess Tutu, leaping forward and landing between the two fighting flowers. "Stop, there is no need to fight!"

"I just wanted to grow flowers with Papillio!" Freya protested.

"You'll just hurt him with those thorns you keep hidden beneath your petals!" Viola hissed.

Tutu wound her hands above her head before offering one to each. "Won't you both dance with me?"

"Tutu..." Freya reached forward, taking her hand. It was just like before, just like when she had nearly offered her heart to the Raven. "Is it happening again?"

"Do not worry, Freya and Violeta," Tutu reassured them both. "I will help you remember your dreams, the ones that ring true in your heart. So please, dance with me."

Violeta hissed withdrawing her hand, but as Freya began to dance with Tutu, Violeta became jealous and demanded with a quick offering motion that she wanted to be included in the dance.

"I just want Papillio to recognize my flower arranging skills," Violeta confessed.

"I want to grow beautiful flowers," Freya admitted. "Perhaps one day you too will use my flowers in arrangements, Violeta."

"Well I can't deny you have the best selection," Violeta begrudgingly admitted.

Chibi Moon watched the three dance, interlocking arms and speaking their dreams. Yet unlike when Tutu had danced with Gene, no double appeared. It was like when they'd encountered Shobolan and Artis. That left it up to Chibi Moon to help reveal the dreams. She was the protector of dreams and hopes, after all.

Summoning the Chibi Moon Kaleidoscope to her hands, she held it out in front of her. "Please, Kaleidoscope! Reveal what's clouding their dreams! Moon Dream Meditation!" A rainbow of light burst forth, kicking up flowers and leaves at it traveled. As it passed through the dancing trio, the doubles appeared.

Tutu gently lay down both Freya and Violeta down on the ground as they collapsed, leaving the doubles behind. She stood up straight in releve, offering a hand to both the doubles. "You aren't their true dreams. Won't you please come with us instead."

"We aren't the true dreams?" Freya's double questioned. "But if I go, will you please plant more flowers?"

"Of course," Tutu nodded.

"Make it a beautiful flower," Violeta's double demanded.

"I promise you both," Tutu nodded. As she reached out, the two doubles took her hands, combining together and forming a metal teapot that seemed to be missing a lid.

"A teapot?" Chibi Moon stared confused as she approached. "I don't get it."

"I am not certain either," Tutu shook her head, "but it is something we can use to fulfill our promise."

...

The sounds of chirping filled the dorm room as Duck opened the window. Dozens of birds flooded in, all demanding birdseed. "I know, I know, you're all so hungry!" Duck managed to emerge, setting the pan of birdseed on the window before returning to the desk. As promised, Duck and Chibiusa planted some flowers in the teapot. Two days later, the seeds had already begun to sprout in the soil.

"It's such a pretty day, and our day off," Duck announced as she watered the seeds carefully. "Let's do something in the town."

"I like that plan," Chibiusa agreed, pulling on her sailor uniform shirt. It was nice to be in her usual clothes for once, though shopping around town, she might be able to buy something that fit in a little bit better given the surroundings. "Maybe we could go shopping."

"I can think of a few shops around town we could visit," Duck agreed, moving back to the window. "We could go to a cafe or a clothes store or QUAAAAAAA-!" She quickly clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Qua?" Chibiusa repeated, staring at Duck and noticing she was intently pointing at something.

"W-w-w-what is _that_?!" Duck shouted.

Chibiusa moved quickly to the window, staring out at the horizon. Over the clock tower and the boy's dormitory and even the church in the distance stood a familiar metal tower among towering trees. A torii gate peeked out from within the trees. "The Tokyo Tower?!" Chibiusa gasped. "What's it doing _here_?!"

 **...**

 **Author's notes:**

The Rose, the Violet, and the Butterfly is a very short, one-act play that has a very simple plot. The rose and the violet vie for the butterfly's attention, but in the end, the butterfly chooses neither flower and flies off.

The names are all plays on the story (save Freya, but I just wanted to pull her into this new story.)

Papillio – butterfly in latin

Violetta – violet in English. Also a heroine in the Shakespearean play "Twelfth Night"


	10. Horai

"I don't believe it. I must be dreaming," Chibiusa stammered as she stared at the massive torii gate stretching out across the forest path before them.

"What is this thing?" Fakir stared up at the gate.

"Torii," Chibiusa replied. "They're gates you walk through when you enter a shrine. It's said walking through them will purify you in the eyes of the kami."

"That's... that's a little unsettling," Duck frowned up at the gate.

"I've walked through them dozens of times," Chibiusa shook her head. "And this one looks like the one I've visited in Harajuku. It's the biggest one in the area, but that doesn't make sense why it's suddenly here."

"It's almost as if elements of your home are suddenly being merged with Gold Crown Town," Fakir reasoned. "Like your friend, Momoko, who had appeared suddenly, but this is a much grander scale. Whatever is spinning this story must have an understanding of both our worlds."

"Do you think he's more powerful than Drosselmeyer?" Duck worried.

"Not sure," Fakir shook his head. "Drosselmeyer had knowledge on our town but not outside of it. Whatever spinner is at hand here has a knowledge of both our homes, and he has experience. He's unwound most of my attempts to steer the story in a particular direction. The only one he hasn't unwound is the story of Princess Tutu."

"That's... that's because you can only write about me," Duck stammered a bit as she pointed it out.

"That's super cute," Chibiusa giggled.

"Don't make this awkward," Fakir huffed. "Anyway, we need to figure out who or what could have such knowledge of both our lands that he could start adding elements of each. Even the stories that have come to life so far are ballets and legends from Tokyo."

"Well first," Chibiusa stepped forward a bit, "I want to see how much of my home is being merged. If we can find specific aspects of Tokyo being merged, maybe it'll tell us more about who or what is causing this." She stared up at the giant torii gate as she passed through it. She turned around. Nothing unusual happened, so she beckoned the other two to follow her. Fakir had no problem approaching though Duck clung to the back of his shirt as she moved through the gate.

They could hear the sounds of people moving about nearby, the noise of crowds, their laughter and chatter. As they emerged from the shrine pathway, Chibiusa stopped suddenly, Duck clamoring into the back of her. "What's wrong, Chibiusa?"

"This... this isn't..." Chibiusa stammered.

Before them stretched out the city. Ceramic roofs peeked out over the crowd of people in traditional garb. A few horses strode by with mounted samurai. Women in decorative kimono held parasols to shield themselves from the sun. The people were a mix of human and animal, much like what was present in Gold Crown Town.

"You have a weird home," Fakir noted.

"This is Tokyo, but it's not _my_ Tokyo," Chibiusa shook her head. "It's from hundreds of years ago, like the pictures from my history books!"

Fakir stared at the people walking by, scowling at them as they stared back. "So this spinner's idea of Tokyo is outdated?"

"But hundreds of years. I've only seen drawings and historical shows that Ami sometimes watches." She stared up at the horizon seeing Tokyo Tower still standing in the distance. "But that tower, that's from modern times. I've been there lots with school trips."

"That's just really weird like some mix of past and present like we've suddenly gone back to the dark ages and oh goodness there's a strange fox lady staring at us," Duck stammered.

"There weren't animal people in Tokyo either," Chibiusa added quietly.

So the tales were blending here as well, fact merging with fiction and somehow transcending time like a fairy tale often did. "Are the tales you've encountered from this era?"

"I'm not that great with history," Chibiusa frowned, "but the drawings with the tales often did look like feudal Tokyo. Well, it was called Edo then."

"It's possible that this isn't a fusing of our times but some sort of story unwinding," Fakir proposed. "The question is, which one and why is that modern tower standing there in the distance?"

"We should go see," Chibiusa nodded with intent.

"We'll have to keep an eye out for anything that may clue you into what story is at play here," Fakir agreed. He paused, hearing voices behind them.

"Fakir!" one called out to him. She bound up to him with a smile. "I didn't expect to see you three travel so far outside Gold Crown Town today."

"Illia," he offered a bit of a greeting, noticing that she and her friends didn't seem the least bit fazed by the sudden appearance of Edo. But that was how stories went, things suddenly appeared and the characters acted like they had always been there. "What brings you out here?"

"The koi festival, of course!" Illia smiled brightly. "It's downtown and I've been wanting to visit for awhile. Something always seems to come up each time but this time, we're not buried in practice or classes."

"He acts like he doesn't even know what the festival is," Bunette snickered.

Fakir folded his arms. "We're here for other reasons, and we should probably go take care of those. Enjoy the festival, Illia."

"He didn't even acknowledge us," Bunette huffed.

"How rude!" Deeria fussed.

"That's just how Fakir is," Illia shrugged. "Maybe they'll be done with whatever it is and join us for the festival later. I bet they'd all have so much fun." Illia couldn't blame him for not wanting to stick around. She still recalled the deep wound he had received in the illusion forest, even if her three friends didn't remember it at all. She still wasn't entirely sure what had happened in that forest, some mix of leaves and people acting out a ballet. She had attempted to speak to him about it, but he just said not to worry about it.

"A koi festival?" Chibiusa pondered as the left. "Koi are pretty popular, but I don't ever recall a koi festival. There is a Children's Day, where you fly koi flags, but that's modern. I think. I really am bad at history."

"What are koi even?" Duck wondered aloud.

"They're a type of fish," Chibiusa explained. "They're like giant goldfish that live a really long time. There are dozens of legends about how people thought they were immortal."

"That's an old fish!" Duck exclaimed. She clung to the back of Fakir's shirt as the three wove through the crowd. Everyone was dressed in such interesting clothing, nothing like she'd ever seen before. The outfits the women wore looked hard to move in. "Are we going to visit the festival?"

"I'm more concerned about that tower in the distance," Fakir replied.

"I'm really wondering about that too," Chibiusa agreed. "Why is the Tokyo Tower in Feudal-era Edo? It doesn't make sense."

"Some story is at play here," Fakir insisted.

"Sure a lot of anime involved the Tokyo Tower, but I'm pretty sure it was built way after this era," Chibiusa reasoned. "Unless CLAMP started writing some historical-modern fusion manga." She shook her head. That just sounded ridiculous. "That's ridiculous."

The three wove through the crowd, past stands of food and games. They stood out like sore thumbs, wearing garb that didn't even look like it belonged in the story. "Maybe we should try to blend in," Chibiusa suggested, digging for her wallet. Her thousand yen would probably stretch pretty far in terms of Edo money. "C'mon." She ducked down one of the alleyways towards a second hand kimono shop nestled off the main street. As soon as they walked in the door, they had literally walked out in attire that matched the area.

"QUAAAAAA?!" Duck clamped her hands over her mouth.

"How did that even happen?" Chibiusa blinked stupidly. She thumbed through her wallet. They didn't even take any money at all.

Fakir stared down at the layers of kimono he now wore. At least the hakama pants felt somewhat more natural than whatever the two girls were wearing. He scrutinized the shop for a moment, walking back and opening the door, walking in and immediately walking out. "It's a plot hole."

Chibiusa nearly tripped on her own two feet. "You're kidding me!"

Fakir straightened out the layers of fabric, catching Duck as she tumbled forward attempting to walk in the kimono. Chibiusa giggled a bit, leaning forward and tugging at the kimono fabric, loosening it from the obi waistband. "Here, that'll make it a little easier to walk in."

"Well you know me, silly Duck always tripping on things," Duck laughed at herself, though she couldn't deny whatever Chibiusa had just done made walking a lot easier now.

Now properly blending in with the surroundings, the trio wove through the crowd particularly unnoticed. Duck stopped to admire some of the food, and eventually the trio did stop to pick up some rice balls at Chibiusa's suggestion.

"I really never knew rice could come in a ball!" Duck marveled, nibbling on it.

"It's pretty common at home," Chibiusa cradled the rice ball in her hands. "Kind of nice to have something familiar."

Duck stared at the rice ball, knitting her brow in worry. "You really miss your home, don't you?"

"I really like being in Gold Crown Town," Chibiusa admitted. "I really love art classes and being with you and Fakir and all the really nice people we've met. Miss Kitter's a really good teacher too. I've learned so much. But part of me still misses the friends I've left behind, my family that's still at home."

"Well somehow we'll get you back to home and we can get back to ours too," Duck nodded assuredly. "We'll just need to crack the code of who is causing this and why and how they're overwriting Fakir's stories and where did he go anyway?"

"You really don't pay attention, do you?" Fakir frowned, approaching the pair. "I went off to get some paper and ink, just in case. There's definitely a story at play, especially with the plot hole we encountered and the sudden appearance of this neighboring town, but it's still unclear which story is playing out. If we get stuck here, we'll need a means to write ourselves out."

"Good plan, good plan," Duck nodded fervently.

Chibiusa shoved the rest of the rice ball into her mouth, staring out at the horizon. "Hopefully we don't get stuck trying to reach the Tokyo Tower. I really want to know why it's there. It could be an illusion, but it could actually have gotten recreated here or pulled in."

"It's really the only thing that stands out enough to be part of a story playing out here," Fakir agreed. "Whatever that tower is, it's our only clue."

"It looks so far away," Duck stood on her tiptoes.

"Let's see if we can get a better view," Fakir suggested, heading back into the crowd. Duck and Chibiusa followed him closely as to not get lost. But as the crowd thinned, they were able to walk more easily despite Duck tripping twice. The path had lead them closer to a harbor. Fishing boats littered the docks, along with a number of huts, a ferry, and a rather large boat parked off to the side. Fakir stared at the sign standing near the harbor docks. "I can't read this."

Chibiusa stared up at the sign. "Hoh... Rah... Ee... Horai. Ferry to Horai."

"What's a Horai?" Duck stared up at the sign. She couldn't recognize a single letter. Perhaps it was Moon Speak.

"Nothing I've ever heard of." Chibiusa peered around the sign, seeing the water before them calmly wave too and fro in the afternoon breeze, rocking the docked boats side to side. "It's not a name of a place in Tokyo, and I'm pretty sure it's not even in Japan." She couldn't read the kanji well, but at least there were the little furigana to tell her how to pronounce the name. She didn't recognize the characters, but they were pretty complex and she hadn't gotten that far in her kanji studies. "But I'm pretty sure I've heard the name somewhere."

Fakir glanced across the waters, barely making out an island in the distance where the Tokyo Tower now mysteriously stood. "Does the sign give times to take the ferry?"

Chibiusa read over the sign, stumbling on the kanji in her mind. At least she could read the kanji for numbers. They were the first ones she'd learned. "It looks like there's one at 3."

Fakir pulled a pocket watch out of his sleeve. "It's 2:30 right now."

"That gives us time to go get more rice balls," Duck suggested. But as soon as she'd turned around, she heard a very unusual group of people approaching. "QUAAAA!"

The group of people approached, dressed incredibly lavishly in brocade kimono with so many layers Duck questioned how they were able to even walk. Most appeared human but several appeared to be cats, a handful of foxes, some frogs, and strangely a few ants. Most were human-sized but a few accompanying the group were smaller and the size expected of the animal.

They approached in a solemn fashion, accompanying a horse-drawn cart covered in various cloths. Inside the cart sat a human male with blonde hair that had a particular cowlick at the bangs. He didn't particularly look like he belonged with his simpler clothes more resembling a merchant than the seemingly royal entourage.

As they drew closer, the trio could clearly see the person in the cart. Chibiusa gasped. There was no way. "Motoki?!"

 **...**

 **Author's musings**

I always wanted to write a plot hole. At least they didn't get swallowed up in it.


	11. Horai, Akt 2

"Motoki?!" Chibiusa gasped.

The blonde leaned out of the carriage. "Well hey there, Chibiusa. It's actually Akinosuke now." He waved at the caravan to stop, dismounting from the carriage to meet the three on the docks.

"Akinosuke?" Chibiusa repeated.

Motoki nodded. "I was approached by this royal procession when I was sleeping under a tree. The emperor told me that he wanted me to marry his daughter who rules over Horai. Can you believe that?"

The story nearly threw Chibiusa off, but it hit her pretty quickly that perhaps he was taking part in some legend she couldn't quite recall. She recalled Fakir telling her to play along with the story at first, so that was just what she intended to do. "That's pretty crazy, Akinosuke," Chibiusa nodded.

"A step up from running a game stand at festivals," he nodded assuredly. "What brings you and your friends all the way out here?"

At least one thing matched up. He was still running a place with games, just like he did in Tokyo. "We're hoping to travel to Horai, actually. We want to go see that tower over there." She pointed across the water at Tokyo Tower, watching Motoki's reaction.

And he glanced over to the tower, not finding anything unusual about it. "That's the Tokoyo Tower," he named it. "It's the palace where Princess Inoe lives. Why don't you all sail across the seas with me as my honored guests?"

"Really?" Duck asked cheerfully. "I want to meet a princess!"

"Then come, let's away," Motoki beckoned them to follow him. "We have our own personal ferry to take across the seas."

As Duck excitedly stepped forward to the boat, Fakir placed a hand on Chibiusa's shoulder. "Who is this guy?"

"He owns an arcade back in Tokyo," Chibiusa replied. "I've known him for awhile. I'm pretty sure he's following a story, but I can't tell which. I just don't recognize it." She watched Motoki and Duck chat as they headed for the docks. It sure seemed like the friendly Motoki she remembered, and he even knew Chibiusa, but he was definitely following the line of some story. She wondered how many other people would be pulled into this story world. "His name is also Motoki Furuhata. He's never gone by Akinosuke before."

Fakir watched Motoki carefully. "You think he's the source of the story?"

"I'm not sure," Chibiusa shook her head, "but I definitely think he's part of it, especially with how he's changed his name. The tower is part of it too. I just can't figure out why he called it Tokoyo and not Edo or Tokyo."

"We'll figure it out, but for now, we'll play along," Fakir nodded, patting the paper sticking out of the collar of his kimono before heading off towards the docks.

Chibiusa nodded. They'd definitely figure it out and protect everyone's dreams. She quickly followed the others and the regal procession onto the boat. She stared at Motoki as they sailed. He was definitely the same one from Tokyo, playing out the part of a story, but she couldn't tell which. Akinosuke _should_ sound familiar, but she just couldn't put a finger on where it was from. It really just sounded like a feudal samurai name or something.

She also wondered if Reika were here or if the story had only pulled him and he'd forgotten her. She frowned a bit. It was just a story. He wouldn't forget Reika in Tokyo, after all. They loved each other dearly.

She stirred from her thoughts, hearing the sounds of horns as they approached the docks. That seemed a rather short time, but it could be that she was too stuck in her thoughts to actually _enjoy_ the trip over. Perhaps it was another plot hole, but she really didn't understand how they actually worked in a world she was experiencing. Sure, she'd seen them in stories, but this was like living a story. It was all disorienting to the point she thought she'd get a headache.

Regardless, she stuck to the experts. Duck and Fakir had been through this before. While Chibiusa had handled the first few stories alright, there was something really disorienting about this one. Perhaps it was the setting or that Motoki had been pulled into it. Maybe it was the boat. Probably the boat. She adjusted her kimono and followed her friends and the procession off the boat and onto the docks.

The island laid out before them was idyllic. Trees scaled impossible heights, green with life and bearing fruit. Bushes provided more fruit and flowers sprout up from the ground. The beach was plentiful with small shoreline creatures, and fish leapt out of the water in the nearby sea. The temperature was warm and the air smelled like flowers and sand. It was _too_ idyllic.

The Tokyo Tower loomed over the island like a metallic monster that didn't belong. It was decorated with mounted flags and hanging banners that reminded Chibiusa of a samurai drama she'd watched recently with Minako. They had mostly watched it as GACKT had taken a leading role in it, but they both ended up liking the story in general.

They were greeted by yet another royal procession with people wearing far too many layers for the warmth of the island. Within the group was the princess, a regal young woman who looked like Reika was dressed up for a period drama. This was all too strange, Chibiusa reasoned. The trio was invited in, given a tour of the tower itself, and then bid to rest for the night in an unreasonablely short period of time.

But the trio didn't quite stay in the palacial tower, instead retreating outside and to the beach.

"I feel like I'm missing time," Chibiusa stared up at the stars in the sky. They looked different than the stars she was used to seeing, different constellations yet there was at least still the brilliant streak of the Milky Way in the center of the sky. "I can't remember where half this day went."

"It's really strange," Duck agreed. "Normally I can remember pretty much most of the day and all that we've done. I know this has been a pretty exciting day, but I feel like we've missed time too."

"Good, you both noticed that too," Fakir pulled the paper from his sleeve as he sat on the shoreline, digging his toes into the impossibly soft sand. "It's like this story isn't complete, like fragments are missing."

"But our original story wasn't complete either," Duck pointed out. "You wrote the ending there."

"True," Fakir agreed. "But unlike _The Prince and the Raven_ , this story probably isn't missing an ending, but perhaps a few pages in the center." He took out the quill, writing so fast that Chibiusa wondered how he hadn't burnt a hole in the page.

Duck knew that style of writing. He only wrote like that when he was spinning. "Are you filling in the story?"

"Just watch," Fakir answered vaguely. As he wrote, the stars began to move in the sky, first slowly, then quickly as if someone were spinning a globe. Dawn began to reach across the horizon, the colors of a sunrise casting a brilliant rainbow. The sun quickly rose, bringing daylight across the land. And as soon as the day had started, it ended, the sun dropping below the horizon, casting rainbows in the sky before completely ducking out of sight. Stars lit up the night sky once again, the moon lazily floating across the night.

Chibiusa rolled over, watching the days move in front of her. It was like watching the days in an anime fast forward suddenly. "Wow, this is amazing. Days are going by, but I don't feel any different."

"This is really cool, Fakir," Duck agreed.

"I don't feel like being subject to the gaps," Fakir admitted. "I'd rather move the story along at our pace until the next chapter properly starts. If we keep waiting, then we may be stuck in this story forever." He worried that they'd become part of the story again, subject to becoming the characters in this tale no one knew. While the island was very beautiful and more like a place he would want to visit _after_ they found the spinner writing the current tale, it wasn't quite time for that just yet.

The days rolled by again and again until Fakir simply stopped writing.

"Is something wrong?" Chibiusa peered at him, worried.

"Nothing's happening," he frowned. "If there were more to this story, it's just not happening." He peered back at the island and the tower behind them. Nothing changed at all. "Perhaps the story doesn't continue for years."

"Quaaaaa!" Duck exclaimed. "We can't wait _years_!"

Chibiusa pulled the Time Key out of her shirt. She wasn't even sure this would work here, not that she'd ever done anything with it other than leap through time.

"We're _not_ waiting years," Fakir shook his head. He tucked the paper back into his sleeve. "I'm pretty sure this island is part of the story. I just sped up the days by nearly a month. Nothing has changed. Not even the sand moved. No leaves fell. Nothing."

"This place doesn't seem real," Duck agreed. "What is this, Rip Van Winkle?"

Chibiusa turned around, looking back at the island as Duck's words practically smacked her in the face. "That's it!" She stood up suddenly, pulling her brooch out from her sleeve. "Now I remember where I heard of Horai before! It's an illusion that only appears in dreams! And it's probably Akinosuke's story where it appears!"

"If he's the source, we'll need to wake him up," Fakir reasoned. "Let's get to the tower."

The two girls had agreed, both transforming into their magical counterparts and quickly headed towards the tower, Fakir quickly following behind them. They soon reached the entrance in a reasonable amount of travel time, not feeling like they had suddenly stepped into a time gap. As Tutu reached forward, something repelled her backwards straight into Fakir, nearly knocking the two down.

Setting Tutu back on her feet, Fakir pulled the quill from his sleeve, tossing at the tower. It bounced off, blowing past them and getting stuck in a tree.

"Why won't it let us in?" Tutu worried. "We won't be able to reach Motoki this way."

Chibi Moon stared at the tower. She stared some more. "What if Motoki _isn't_ the source?"

Tutu glanced over at Chibi Moon with worry. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it," Chibi Moon stared at the tower some more. "Horai is an allusion that appears inside dreams. If I remember right, Horai appears as a result of something tampering with someone's dream. What if Motoki really is just acting out the part and it's the island itself that is the dream?"

"That's pretty wild, but it makes sense," Fakir stared up at the tower. "No matter how I try to affect this island, nothing happens. It's like the other stories that I couldn't affect anything but the world around them."

"Like how you returned Tutu's power to me," Tutu reasoned, "when I wasn't part of _The Boy who drew Cats_."

"Exactly," Fakir agreed. "For some reason I'm not able to affect the story itself, like I couldn't take hold of Drosselmeyer's story at first. I'll find a way, though. This spinner can't be worse than that old man."

"Then we'll stop this dream," Chibi Moon announced assuredly. "We're the guardians of dreams right now, and until we can find the spinner or overcome him, we need to keep stopping the dreams the only way we know how." She knew what it was like to feel that she couldn't help anyone. Fakir seemed much stronger than she did, able to handle that he couldn't unspin the story right now, but she still didn't want him to feel like he couldn't help. She'd been there, done that, and only with her friends and the help of Helios did she start feeling like a true sailor guardian.

She summoned her Chibi Moon Kaleidoscope. "Please, Kaleidoscope! Reveal what's destroying their dreams! Moon Dream Meditation!" Rainbows burst from the kaleidoscope, enveloping the tower but completely not affecting it, the light passing through it and fizzling out in the distance.

She stared at the tower, worried. "Kaledoscope!" she shouted, sending more beams of rainbows through the tower, each time the light fizzling out. She stared at the weapon. "Kaleidoscope, what's wrong? Why isn't this working?"

" _This dream is too strong,_ " the Kaleidoscope answered.

Fakir stared at the thing as it spoke. "Wait, that thing can talk?"

" _There are talking cats the size of people here, why is this so surprising?_ " the Kaleidoscope sassed him.

"The Kaleidoscope has a will of its own," Chibi Moon explained. "It has since Helios gifted it to me." Helios. That's right. Reaching into her pocket, she found the tiny Crystal Carillon still there. He was a powerful source of magic and warmth, and she really wanted to see him again. But would calling upon his power for help even work? Would he get stuck here if she did or would he simply not hear her call.

Normally she'd rely on Sailor Moon to break free of such magics, but Sailor Moon wasn't here. Chibi Moon felt that pit in her heart, the one where she still felt like she paled in comparison to Usagi. She stared at the Carillon in her hand. No, that wasn't true anymore. Helios had sought _her_ out to be the maiden who saved him. Sure, she hadn't fully awoken the power of her pink crystal, but she was still a sailor guardian and a princess in her own right.

"There's one last thing I can try." She released the Kaleidoscope from her hand, taking a knee with the bell grasped between both hands. _Helios, I'm sorry to possibly pull you into this mess, but I... I know your power can help. And I want to see you again._ She stared at the bell some more, hoping with all her heart that he could hear her words. "Helios, please! Protect everyone's dreams! Twinkle Yell!"

Light burst forward from the bell as she rang it. An image of someone appeared before them completely enveloped in light. He reached forward. Chibi Moon recognized that form. It was the one she'd seen many times in her own dream as Helios reached out for her. This time, she was doing the reaching, asking for his help.

" _Wake up, beautiful maiden._ "

"Wake up?" Chibi Moon echoed the words.

"Wake up?" Tutu repeated.

" _Yes, wake up_."

The world suddenly fell dark, the illusion of the tower quickly fading away into nothingness. The feeling of cold ground met her bare arm and face as she felt like she could finally move again. Chibi Moon stirred as she felt Tutu leaning against her. Fakir was no doubt nearby as well. Then she nearly jerked awake as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Maiden..."

She pushed herself up to her knees, rubbing at her face. She felt groggy like she'd fallen asleep. But then it hit her, the realization that she knew that voice. "Am I dreaming?"

"Not anymore," Helios replied, offering her a soft smile.

Chibi Moon reached forward, expecting him to simply fade away, but instead he took her hand in his. "Helios!" She dove forward, hugging him tightly as if she still expected him to disappear. "Helios, it's really you! It's really you!"

"I'm here, Maiden," he embraced her deeply.

"I'm really sorry to pull you into this, Helios!" Chibi Moon apologized. "I couldn't think of what to do!"

"I heard your words and your heart," he added. "I'm just happy that you are safe. To think you'd been entangled in such a dream."

Tutu took to her feet with the help of Fakir, watching the two. Chibi Moon was so happy to see whoever this was again. "Are you the one who saved us?"

"It was Chibi Moon here," Helios shook his head. "She called out to me to help wake her and all of you."

Fakir quickly glanced around at the settings. They were standing on the docks where the adventure had first started. Glancing over the water, he could no longer see the tower in the distance, just an endless sea. " _We_ were dreaming?"

"There are legends that ants can cause people to dream," Helios indicated an army of ants marching off towards the shoreline. "After Chibi Moon called out to me, I saw them march around you and leave."

"Ants? What a peculiar thing to cause a dream," Tutu watched them march away. "But what of Motoki? Was he nothing but an illusion?"

"I found him some ways down the docks," Helios replied. "Seems he was caught in the dream too. Maiden, you don't need to hold me so tight. I'm not going anywhere."

"I don't want you to have to leave again," Chibi Moon spoke into his shirt. "But will Mamo be okay without you nearby?"

"I'll stay right here," Helios consoled her. "I'm sure he'll be fine. The prince is strong, after all."

She sat back, rubbing at her face. "I'm sorry to make you stay in this strange story, but... I just want to see you again."

"I'm happy to be with you again, too, Maiden," Helios smiled, finally seeing that bright smile return to Chibi Moon's face. He peered up at the other two staring back at him. "Forgive me, where are my manners? My name is Helios, guardian and high priest of Elysion. Chibi Moon once saved me, so now's my chance to return the favor. And spend a bit more time with my Maiden."

Fakir stared for a moment. It honestly wasn't the most bizarre thing he'd heard all day. After all, he'd been subject to a dream by an army of ants in Feudal Japan with a modern structure on an illusionary island. This just seemed _normal_ , and he had served a prince himself. "You'll need a place to stay. You can't stay in the girls' dorm, so stay with me instead. We'll figure out where you have been written into the story, or I'll just write you in myself."

 **...**

 **Author's musings**

This is a long chapter. I give up on keeping them short.

Anyway, the two legends entwined here are "The Dream of Akinosuke" and the tales of Horai.

Horai was generally an idyllic island that appeared here and there

Akinosuke is essentially Rip Van Winkle. Motoki's tale about how he went to the island is the first part of how this tale begins. The ants cause the dream and eventually he wakes up because the queen he'd been sent to marry died. The part that isn't included here is that when Akinosuke wakes up, he find a dead ant queen with him and ends up burying her.


	12. The Sparrow's Cafe

" _The Dream of Akinosuke_ ," Fakir read the book. "It's part of a collection called _Kwaidan._ The collection even details information about insects and has an entire section devoted to Horai itself. It's pretty much exactly what we experienced, everything down to the marriage, the island, and the ants." He set the book down on the table in the library.

"This hardly even makes sense," Autor picked up the book. "All the tales you've experienced aren't even connected. They're not even from the same country."

"None of it makes sense," Fakir frowned. "The legends are pulled from Chibiusa's world, which seems almost as magical as ours when the previous story was controlling the town. Now she has three people from her world here, only one of which is aware this is a story."

"You explained it all to him?"

"He took it surprisingly well," Fakir nodded. "Then again, he seems to be more accustomed to being pulled between worlds than I thought. I still can't find any references to his home kingdom, other than a handful of Greek myths, but given his description, he might very well be from a place that _inspired_ these myths. Or he's just a myth himself." Fakir wasn't sure which was which. Helios had described how he served Endymion, the prince of earth who had fallen in love with Serenity, who was an incarnation of Selene, the moon goddess. He was entwined in as many stories as Fakir himself was. It made sense how Helios took the information incredibly well.

"Another story blending in with ours," Autor frowned. "When will the spinning actually end?"

"We still haven't found a spinner yet," Fakir shook his head. "Notice anything on your end?"

"Nothing," Autor pushed his glasses up his nose. "I haven't even seen the Book Men move. The old man is still manning the bookstore as if nothing's unusual. It's like he doesn't seem to even notice that a story is playing out again."

"It's not one of Drosselmeyer's stories," Fakir added. "It's possible they only can recognize his."

"Even with the return of Princess Tutu and someone who has a striking resemblance to Prince Siegfried," Autor pushed his glasses up his nose again. "It's like they've been written not to notice."

"This spinner is powerful," Fakir pointed out. "He's been able to pull us directly into a story without us realizing it. I don't think the spinner has noticed you, though. You may be able to spot the spinner while we fight the dreams."

"Oh so now you need my help?" Autor commented snidely.

"Do you want to be included in this or not?" Fakir hissed.

"Fine, fine," Autor conceded. "I'll keep an eye out for things."

...

"You look so cute in the Academy uniform!" Chibiusa gushed, seeing Helios in the blue and white school outfit.

"You truly think so, Maiden?" Helios smiled brightly. "I'm a bit uncertain about fitting in here, but Fakir has been very reassuring."

"You'll do fine," Fakir nodded. "Since you weren't introduced into the story by the spinner, I've written you in as a ballet student with all my understanding of dance. I didn't know enough about drawing to work you into those classes."

"Can you write me with better dancing skills?" Duck begged him.

"I'm not a miracle worker," he replied with a bit of a grin.

"Stupid Fakir I just want to dance with you like you dance with Illia!" Duck shouted at him.

Fakir sighed. "I don't want you dancing like Illia. I want you to dance like you." He reached forward, bopping her on the head, but then taking her hand as if he were inviting her to dance.

"Really?" Duck stared back at him. "Even though I can't point my toes or do point like Tutu can?"

"I want you to be you, dummy," he replied. "Now let's go. We'll be late for class."

Chibiusa waved them off, smiling at her group of friends. She never thought she would count Helios among the people here, but it was really nice to have him around. She could finally spend time with him like a normal person who just happen to be helping save people's dreams. But when they weren't they could actually chat and perhaps even date. She blushed profusely.

"You have a crush on Fakir's roommate?" Momoko wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Perhaps it's an affair," Diana suggested, peeking out of Chibiusa's school bag.

"D-diana!" Chibiusa stammered. "I-it's hardly an affair if I already like him, right?"

"I hear he'll be dancing as the King of the Moon in the ballet," Shobolan recalled. "I hear he's as good as Fakir. Hopefully he'll get a bigger part in the next ballet."

Chibiusa nearly tripped over her own feet. Fakir sure wrote that part in fast. And the part he'd given Helios in the ballet was rather fitting, given his association with the Earth and the Moon. Part of her wondered if Helios was truly okay with this, but he seemed rather happy about the whole situation. At least as this whole story played out, she'd be able to spend more time with him and the new friends she'd made.

"C'mon, we'll be late!" Momoko urged them. "I hear today's lesson is painting!"

"That sounds like fun!" Chibiusa smiled. Even if it was just a story, no reason she couldn't enjoy it. She bound after the others. Painting was always fun. She wondered what the subject was as she entered the studio. Miss Kitter stood at the center next to a pedestal with a large plush bird standing on it surrounded by feathers and flowers.

"Today we'll be focusing on still life," Miss Kitter announced. "Here we have a plush sparrow from the newly opened Sparrow Cafe in the next town over. We'll focus on still life since we'll be working with a medium that requires more time. Everyone make sure to use the aprons provided so you don't get acrylics stuck to your uniforms."

Pulling on the apron, Chibiusa went to work. She'd used acrylics before, so perhaps she had a leg up on the competition. It was the only thing they did all day, so she was able to finish the entire painting and present it to Helios after school. "I painted you something!" she handed him the rolled paper.

Helios unrolled it with a bright smile. "This is beautiful. We can hang this on the wall, right?"

Fakir shrugged. "Sure, why not. It is pretty good." It might go well with the ballet posters he had plastered along one side of the wall.

"Yeah, it's really good!" Duck chimed in. "You're really good at this art stuff!"

Chibiusa nearly pushed her face into her collar, blushing. "I really love art. It's the one thing I'm best at. And the subject was that sparrow. There's apparently a Sparrow Cafe open in Edo. Since that place seems to be a permanent addition to the area, I'd like to check it out. Maybe a….. double date?"

"Hey, that sounds like a great idea!" Duck cheerfully agreed. She smiled up at Fakir. "We should go."

"At least to check out the place," Fakir quickly conceded. He was still suspicious of Edo's sudden appearance and the significance of it. The others seemed like they wanted to have a little fun before another story showed up, and he couldn't exactly deny that having a brief respite would be good.

After dropping off the painting and changing out of their uniforms, the quartet headed through the torii and into feudal Edo. Fakir had shoved Helios into one of his casual outfits so the priest didn't look so out of place compared to the rest of the story. Fakir was somewhat concerned that the spinner might try to affect Helios, despite Helios being an outside source brought in by Chibiusa's wish. Yet so far, Helios had blended in pretty well.

"There it is," Chibiusa announced. "Just like Miss Kitter had said. The cafe nestled in the bamboo grove." Before them laid out a simple cafe nestled within the bamboo. It seemed somewhat out of place with the more modern and somewhat European accents, looking more like a popup cafe she'd find in Tokyo. There were anime-like drawings of sparrows on the more traditional flags and drapery and the menu sported modern European treats like parfaits. Dozens of sparrows littered the lawn, inviting customers with their friendly chirps.

Last time they'd encountered a modern element in the feudal era, it turned out to be just a dream. But this one also had elements that she found in Gold Crown Town, so perhaps it was just a fusion.

"Fusion cuisine," Fakir read off the menu. "At least the menu's written in something I can read."

"There are so many birds here, and they're all really happy!" Duck observed. "They all have delicious bread."

"Don't go all bird on me," Fakir grabbed her by the collar of her shirt. He still wasn't sure if duck-like actions would turn Duck back into an ordinary duck, but fortunately there was enough water around to turn her back into a girl. He flushed a bit but quickly covered it up by turning away and reaching for the door.

Duck clamped her hands over her mouth before she was able to utter a quack. "Oh haha, I'm sorry I'll be more careful."

 _"You spend far too much of our precious food on those damn birds!"_

 _"But my love, even the cafe is named after them! I thought you loved the sparrows!"_

Fakir paused at the door.

 _"You give away all our ingredients!" the woman hissed._

 _"But my love!" the man pleaded. "The sparrows attract our customers!"_

 _"What customers?!" the woman seethed._

Heavy footsteps approached the door. The quartet plastered themselves against the wall as the door slid open and a women in a simple kimono with an apron stormed out, slamming the sliding door behind her and frightening the birds back into the bamboo trees. One of the birds didn't fly, instead stumbling a bit in the lawn. The woman approached, lifting her foot to stomp on it, but instead she ended up stomping on Fakir's shoulder.

He'd quickly reacted, practically diving from the entryway to draw the little sparrow into his arms. He had a soft spot for birds, including the human one that now stood at the entrance with her hands clasped over her mouth.

The woman huffed, not even apologizing to Fakir, turning and stomping out the front gate.

"She was very rude!" Duck fussed, approaching as Fakir sat up on the lawn.

He cradled the bird in his hands. "It's alright, the bird is fine."

"There's something about this that feels familiar," Chibiusa noted, approaching along with Helios. "Could this be another story?"

"I believe so," Fakir nodded. "I've heard of a tale about a sparrow where an angry wife had slit the poor sparrow's tongue in anger." The bird frantically tweeted. "We're not going to let that happen."

"That's _The Sparrow with the Slit Tongue!_ " Chibiusa recognized the tale.

"I read a translation in a compendium," Fakir recalled. " _The Pink Fairy Book_. It's part of a series of fairy tales from around the world."

"If we're in the middle of another story," Helios reasoned, "then there must be a source. Are we to act out the rest of the story?" He glanced around. There were quite a lot of possible sources nearby. The cafe, the birds now clamoring on the bamboo stalks, the wife, the husband inside, and the sparrow now in Fakir's hands.

"This time we've realized the story before it could escalate," Fakir observed as he stood up.

"I don't really want it to escalate. Then that poor sparrow will get his tongue cut!" Chibiusa worried. "Should we act out the rest of the story ourselves?"

"That's what I'm thinking," Fakir nodded. "In this story, after the injury, the sparrow retreats into the mountains. That's when the story reaches its peak. What is the closest mountain in the area? At least in your version of Tokyo."

Chibiusa wrinkled her nose. She had to think about that for a moment. "I'm pretty bad at geography. Mount Fuji is really far away, but there's one that is on the outskirts of Tokyo. Mount... mount... there's even a big shrine there. I went with Mama Ikuko once..." She tapped a finger on her chin. "Mi something... Mi... taka? That's not it... Oh I know! I have a bus map in my backpack in my room! That'll tell us exactly what the mountain is!"

"Let's get the bus map so we can get this sparrow home without getting its tongue slit," Fakir agreed. This time, they could move the legend along.

Chibiusa dug through her bag, unfolding the map. It was filled with lines and instructions written in a language neither Duck nor Fakir could read. More of those moon runes. "If we're here by the shoreline," she tapped the waterfront with her finger, "the closest major mountain is Mount Mitake. It's a bit of a walk, though, without buses and public transportation and all."

Duck stared at her, uncertain she understood what Chibiusa was talking about.

Chibiusa blinked. "... right, that doesn't exist here….."

"Do not fret, Maiden," Helios reassured her, "we can always walk, perhaps pick up some street food along the way so we do not tire so easily."

"It's possible we may encounter another plot hole that will take us closer to Mount Mitake faster than in your world," Fakir suggested. "This Edo doesn't look as large as that map you're holding."

"Plot holes are so dizzying," Duck fussed.

"But it's faster than walking that distance," Fakir pointed out. "Come, let's head out before the spinner realizes we've caught onto the story."

Chibiusa nodded, folding the map and shoving it back into her backpack. "Let's save this sparrow and stop the story before things turn bad!" With a smile, she headed off through the cafe gate, pausing to dig for the map. Duck nearly headed off in the wrong direction as well before Helios guided the pair the right way.

 _Two peas in a pod_ , Fakir shook his head. With the sparrow nestled in his hand, he headed off, following the other three towards the mountains hoping for the best.

 **...**

 **Author's notes**

I'm pretty fond of the idea that Elysion, Serenity and Endymion, and the entire ancient timeframe in general inspired myths of the earth cultures later on after the world was reborn.

The legend at play here is exactly what they said, 'The Sparrow with the Slit Tongue.' I've found a lot of ancient Japanese legends are quite violent, just like the one that Fakir has described. The question is, will this tale turn violent as well?


	13. The Sparrow with the Slit Tongue

"Quaaaaa~~~~" Duck thought her heart was going to beat out of her chest as she tripped on a root and face planted on the forest floor.

"You dance ballet constantly, how are you out of breath?" Fakir frowned, picking her up and placing her back on her feet. "Cmon, let's see if we can find the Sparrow's Inn from the story."

Mount Mitake wasn't a far hike from the city thanks to a rather sizeable plot hole that placed the mountain right at the outskirts of the small town. It was the hike up the mountainside that proved a little more treacherous. The mountain was part of a handful of places to hike, according to Chibiusa's bus map, but in this story, there only seemed to be one.

"According to the tourist guide, the shrines have been here for 2000 years," Chibiusa read over the description. "It fits into this feudal era pretty well. It's known for its birds and trees."

"That sounds like we'll find the Sparrow's Inn here," Helios noted, cradling the sparrow in his hand. The sparrow seemed to chirp in response.

"Once we find it, we may be able to see the rest of this story unfold," Fakir recalled the tale. "According to the story, the old man will be hiking up here first to find the injured sparrow. As we've intervened before the sparrows tongue could be cut, it's possible this ending will change."

"Can you alter the story a bit, Fakir?" Chibiusa wondered. "We're aware of it now, right? Perhaps you can change it so it only seems like the sparrow's been hurt and the story continues like normal."

"Once we find the inn, or at least the shrine, I may be able to alter some details to move the story in the right direction," Fakir considered the idea. "Now that we're becoming more aware of the stories, there might be a way that I can start overpowering the spinner's words. It worked that way last time, when I'd become aware that we were living _The Prince and the Raven_."

"There was that Autor pressuring you too," Duck recalled the obsessive bookworm.

"I have him looking into stories for me," Fakir informed them. "The spinner doesn't seem aware of him, and we both know he's obsessed with spinning. While we unspin the stories, perhaps he'll be able to pinpoint some information on who's responsible."

"It's good to know we have another on our side," Chibiusa nodded assuredly. "Hey look! It's a torii! We're heading in the right direction!" She indicated the orange-red torii gate stretching over the walkway. Maple trees hung low over the walkway as they approached. Behind the torii was a bridge with a traditional arch stretching across with papers and calligraphy to identify the shrine.

"I can't read that kanji," Chibiusa squinted at the sign.

Helios leaned over, glancing over the painted characters. "'Welcome to the Mitake Shrine. All are welcome, including the sparrows.' This does seem like the best location for a Sparrow's Inn." His thoughts were rudely interrupted by the sound of stomping. He turned, knitting his brow in worry. "Seems the wife is already here."

"Take the sparrow and go, you two," Fakir quickly instructed to the two girls. "We need to get the sparrow to the Inn. We can help delay her until the story unfolds properly.

"But Fakir!" Duck protested.

"You forget I'm still a knight," Fakir reminded her sharply. "I may have traded my sword for a pen, but I can still handle an irate woman. Now, go!"

"We'll handle this, Maiden," Helios reassured her with a smile, handing Chibiusa the sparrow. "I may have been pulled into this world, but so has my magic. If you run into trouble, just ring the bell. I'll be sure to answer." He smiled as the two headed off across the bridge and deeper into the forest. "If I may," he offered Fakir a pleasant look.

Helios was a stark contrast to Fakir, his lighter appearance and his incredibly calm and constantly pleasant demeanor. While Fakir was completely prepared to stop an old woman with a butcher knife in a kimono that needed some mending, Helios seemed to have other plans in mind. Chibiusa had mentioned Helios was a powerful protector of dreams, but Fakir still wasn't sure what that meant. It seemed that he needed Chibiusa to protect him and break the seal on a crystal, but it all seemed like a strange fairy tale that he wanted to read a second time to fully understand the meaning. "Go ahead. Just try not to lose a tongue or something."

"Maiden would be terribly upset if I did," Helios nodded, stepping out. "Please, my lady, there is no need to rush so angrily."

"Isn't there?!" the woman hissed back, brandishing the knife. "That damned sparrow ate all the starch! I'm going to cut its tongue out!"

Fakir noted the event from the original story matched up. While they had visited and the place seemed to serve more sweets, starch was still an important to the story. Even though they had rescued the sparrow, the starch still had gone missing.

"And yet the sparrow has been in our care," Helios countered gently. "There is no reason to be angry at it so. It is simply a sparrow. It did not know that it had done something wrong."

The woman stared at Helios for a moment. It was hard to be angry at such a soft, inviting face.

Helios calmly smiled in return. "Cutting the sparrow's tongue out isn't truly what you desire, is it?"

"I want our restaurant to be successful," the woman stated reasonably. "But my husband has to go feed all the sparrows! He's wasting all our income! We'll never be able to keep the cafe going at this rate!"

Helios admittedly didn't know much about how to run a restaurant. He was a priest of a land nestled in the deepest heart of the Earth Kingdom. But his words seemed to calm the ire of the woman, but only temporarily. Birds chirped from the trees and the woman was back on her hellbent path. She lunged forward with her knife, and likely would've taken part of Helios's face off if Fakir hadn't intervened, catching the woman's wrist with his hand.

"That sort of ire won't help you achieve your dreams," Helios chided gently. "Your dreams are brilliant and pure. Your love for your cafe shines brightly in your eyes. You should embrace that dream instead of your anger."

"I..." the woman fought against the idea for a moment.

"The sparrows aren't a hindrance," Helios continued. "It was the sparrows which attracted us to your cafe."

The woman looked terribly conflicted. "You came... because of the sparrows?"

"We did," Helios nodded with a smile. "And we'd very much like to visit again, sparrows and all."

The knife fell from her fingers as she suddenly loosened her grip on it. Fakir's hand was still wrapped around her wrist but she didn't bother fighting against him anymore. "I just want the cafe to make money."

"Then you should live your dream," Helios encouraged her. "It is a beautiful and bright dream that could blossom into an amazing reality."

He was stalling. Fakir could tell. He glanced discretely towards the bridge. _They better hurry up. I'm not sure how long he can drag this out._

...

"There it is, the Sparrow's Inn!" Chibiusa announced excitedly. It was a bit easier to find than she'd thought. It was nestled in the bamboo like it was part of the shrine. It was framed with stone lanterns, looking like mini shrine itself with a small torii gate at the entrance leading up to an ornate birdhouse.

Chibiusa gently set the sparrow down at the entrance. It stood up, limping a bit but managed to limp into the Inn itself with a happy chirp. Chibiusa gingerly picked up the sparrow again, pulling her crystal from her brooch. She knew it wasn't part of the story, but she also didn't want the sparrow to suffer. Reacting to her heart, the crystal lit up, healing the bird's leg. As she set it back down, she tucked the crystal back into her brooch, smiling as the sparrow happily trotted into the Inn. Several birds quickly excited, presenting the two girls with a set of baskets, one large and one small.

"Are we supposed to choose one?" Duck turned to Chibiusa.

Chibiusa nodded. She'd read the legend in a picture book. She knew the right basket to choose. "It's a reward for our kindness. And the one to choose is the smallest one. We don't want to be greedy." That was the moral of the story, and right now they were acting out the role of the old man who visited the Inn.

In the original story, the old man traveled up the mountain to find the injured sparrow who had its tongue slit. He found the Sparrows Inn and was pleased to see the sparrow was okay, despite the slit tongue. The sparrows at the Inn rewarded him with a basket. In the small one was treasure, but the big one was snakes and monsters. The big one was the last thing Chibiusa wanted.

"Thank you," Chibiusa thanked the sparrows warmly as she picked up the small basket. "Now please take care of your friend!" She turned back towards the bridge, worry twisting her features. Since they'd left the scene, Chibiusa had been worried. That woman had a butcher knife. She could easily hurt either of them. Helios wasn't a fighter, but perhaps his words could sway her. Then there was Fakir, who mentioned being a knight. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad.

"We should hurry back," Duck suggested.

"I was thinking the same thing," Chibiusa nodded, holding the basket with one hand and her brooch with the other. Still with the basket in her arms, she transformed, travelling down the bridge with Princess Tutu to find the boys still at the end. They'd managed to wrestle the knife from her hands, but she was still trying to fight them. Fakir had managed to restrain her arm, but she'd already managed to strike him a few times. Helios was trying to talk her down.

Tutu landed between the woman and the two boys, winding her hands over her head and offering one to her. "Won't you dance with me?"

Chibi Moon rushed to the other two, ensuring both were still in one piece. "Are you both okay?" She knit her brow in concern seeing that Fakir now sported a cut on his face. "You seem to always get hurt trying to help us out, Fakir."

He rubbed at his face. "It's nothing," he brushed off the concern. "Besides, seems Helios has quite the ability to talk someone down, even when they're being driven by a story."

"I simply wish to speak to their hearts," Helios smiled.

"And in talking her down, I noticed something odd," Fakir added. "There were creatures in the forest that seemed to be watching us, and not just the birds. They kind of looked like a raccoon and a fox, and they left right before you both arrived. They were a bit far, so I couldn't tell exactly."

"That's really strange," Chibi Moon admitted, watching Tutu dance with the woman. Tutu's moves were almost like a bird's, dancing very light on her steps until the woman's shadow appeared. As Tutu reached out to it, it transformed into yet another teapot. "Why is it a teapot?"

Tutu gently held the collapsed woman in one arm while cradling the teapot in the other. "I'm really not sure either." She turned quickly with the rustling in the forest. "Someone is coming."

From the trees emerged the old man, the cafe owner, in quite a hurry. "Please, darling! Be reasonable!" He stopped quickly as he saw her collapsed in Tutu's arms. "My darling!"

"Do not worry, she is just fine," Tutu reassured him. "She simply needs some rest from the ordeal she has been through."

"Here," Chibi Moon offered him the basket. "This is from the sparrows. They want to thank you for your kindness."

The old man smiled, taking the basket but not peeking in it just yet. "I hope they know they are always invited to the cafe. I also hope that my wife will be more accepting of them."

"Hopefully so," Tutu agreed.

"Just make sure to not tell her where the basket came from," Chibi Moon added. Perhaps they could prevent the end of the tale and the woman wouldn't be overcome with avarice, which ultimately lead to her demise in the story.

...

"This is the best parfait I've ever had!" Chibiusa exclaimed, sitting on her knees so she could barely match the height of the giant glass.

"It's certainly good to see that the cafe is thriving," Helios commented. "It seems her ire for sparrows has completely diminished."

"I'm pleased we could save the old woman so she didn't meet the fate of this tale," Chibiusa added.

Fakir nodded, watching the old woman putter about chipperly as she hung up the gems and decorations that were included in the sparrow's basket. "Seems that we have some control over the stories here. This spinner isn't as powerful as he wants to believe he is. That'll give us an advantage."

"Soon perhaps we'll have more clues about who this spinner is," Duck nodded assuredly. "But for now, we should figure out what to do with this extra teapot!"

 **...**

 **Author's musings**

Helios's full abilities are never really featured in the manga. We know he has the power to create magical items with the desire to protect dreams. So what if he really could protect people's dreams in a non-combative way? Helios never really fought battles, never showed any desire _to_ fight magically or physically. So likely he could instead fight with words, appeal to people's hearts as he worked to protect precious dreams.

Helios is certainly not the priest attempting to protect a crystal with his life anymore. That battle is done. Now it's time he battle in his own way.


	14. The Prince and the flowers

"Are we really supposed to be here?" Chibiusa asked quietly as she leaned against the theater door.

"Oh don't you worry about it, Chibiusa. It's certainly not a scandal!" Lilie laughed.

"When you put it like that, I'm having trouble believing it _isn't_ ," Chibiusa stared at her with uncertainty.

"Oh don't let her get to you," Pike clarified. "Mr. Cat said it was fine to watch. He said we could learn more about ballet, and I don't see why art students would be allowed in either. You've drawn them all a few times, right?"

"We have," Malon nodded. "I would like to see them in action again."

"And if Mr. Cat threatens us to marry us, we'll just sneak out," Duck nodded assuredly.

Somewhere backstage, Mr. Cat's ear twitched.

The group of girls quietly entered the empty theater. Already on stage the practice had begun. They were rehearsing the later acts of the ballet rendition of _Princess Kaguya_ with Fakir and Illia dancing on stage. Duck nestled in her chair, still wanting to be the one dancing with Fakir.

Illia was so graceful. Her reach during her arabesques and releves seemed impossibly long, but Illia had long limbs that looked perfect in ballet. Duck wanted to be jealous, but she still recalled Fakir saying he wanted to dance with her as her like they did at the Lake.

As she watched them dance, Duck recalled Mr. Cat mentioning how important practice was as she saw the teacher stand up and stop the music. He instructed them with a few directions and the pair began the dance where they'd left off.

"Wow look at them," Lilie gushed. "I bet you're all super jealous that Fakir is dancing with Illia and not you~" She wrapped an arm around Duck, practically strangling her as she pulled Duck's face.

"I'm really okay with it, Lilie," Duck protested, attempting to wriggle free of her friend's grasp. "I... I can't breathe please let me go."

"Oh Duck, it's okay, you don't have to suffer pining for Fakir alone," Lilie squeezed her even tighter.

"Quiet back there!" Mr. Cat hissed. "Or I'll have you M-M-M-M-MAAAAARRRRYYYYY-"

"Can we start that pas de deux from the top again?" Fakir interrupted.

"Of course, Mr. Fakir," Mr. Cat's attention quickly darted back to the stage. "Then we'll work on the Moon Court's entrance."

Chibiusa could see the flourish of the curtains on the side as the pas de deux continued and the pair stopped at the opposite edge of the stage. They both opened their arms, as if inviting someone to join them. And sure enough, a procession did. Several dancers dressed in long white tutus appeared. Their dresses were accented with crystals and golden rings. Chibiusa nearly gasped. They were similar to what her mama wore, a style that she heard was popular during the Moon Kingdom's reign.

She clasped a hand over her mouth, not wanting to invoke Mr. Cat's threats.

The moon dancers paused, all motioning towards the curtain, but no one came.

Mr. Cat folded his arms, growling a bit. "Mr. Helios, that's your queue."

Rose petals burst out of side stage, blown by what sounded like a fan the size of a jet engine. The petals covered the stage and the gathered dancers and a very annoyed Mr. Cat. Out in the flurry of petals danced a very awkward Femio with some assortment of crescent moons plastered across his face in blues and blacks. He was wearing an ornate coat with lace and pearlized beads that greatly contrasted his messy face paint and lack of tights.

"MISTER FEMIO!" Mr. Cat hissed.

Femio turned, leaning backwards dramatically as the rose petals continued to float around him. "It's art, Mr. Cat."

"You're not even in this ballet!" Mr. Cat hissed some more. "Why are you wearing his costume? Where is Mr. Helios?!"

Chibiusa stared at the stage, appalled. She wasn't sure which was worse, Femio's terribly cliche entrance or the fact that he might've jumped Helios to get the outfit. "Wh-... What is this guy?"

"That's Femio...He calls himself a Prince..." Duck explained poorly.

"R... right..." Chibiusa wasn't sure she understood, nor did she understand whatever Femio was doing on stage.

"Mr. Femio!" Mr. Cat hissed again.

"I must be in this ballet," Femio continued to ignore the hissing as he leaned backwards over one of the Moon Court dancers, pulling a rose from somewhere as the rose petals continued to blow in from the side of the stage. "You see, Mr. Cat, I want to dance for my princess."

"Mr. Femio!" Mr. Cat continued to hiss as he leapt onto the stage.

"My heart," Femio continued, doing some manner of awkward knee-bent twirl across the stage until he nearly tripped on Fakir. "It's been enslaved by Princess Tutu."

"QUAAAA!" Duck clamped a hand over her mouth as she tried to disappear into the seat. When she'd last met him, she danced against Princess Kraehe to save his heart, though in the end, his heart didn't need saving. Femio had fallen in love with both Kraehe and Tutu. And now with Kraehe no longer in the story, that left Tutu to be the object of his attention.

That was the last thing Duck really wanted.

"That's ridiculous," Fakir stated sharply as he attempted to dissuade Femio. "Princess Tutu is a storybook character."

"Oh that's where you're wrong!" Femio protested. "I've seen her, and she's glorious. She has stolen my heart! I am enslaved by her beauty!"

Fakir didn't look at all impressed by Femio's overly dramatized words. "Get off the stage, Femio." His attention shifted as the fan suddenly shut off, Helios emerging from behind it. He was covered in rose petals, wearing only his tights and a loose shirt open in the front. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No, I'm quite alright," Helios shook his head. "It seems he took the outfit, and we've been trying to search for it for some time."

Chibiusa thought she was going to melt right through the seat. Helios was wearing an _open shirt_. It felt scandalous to even look. Feeling her face turn beat red, she covered her eyes with her hands, of course peeking out between the fingers.

"Mr. Femio, need I remind you that you are _suspended_?" Mr. Cat hissed, baring his teeth.

"You cannot suspend my love for Princess Tutu," Femio completely derailed the threat. "A prince should be with his princess, after all!"

Mr. Cat growled, chasing the dancer off the stage. "MISTER FEMIO!"

...

"I'm so embarrasseeddddd..." Duck whined, trying to hide her head in her hands.

"I do not understand this Femio person," Helios admitted. "Why is he so obsessed with Princess Tutu that he would steal my costume?"

"Oh man," Duck buried her face in her hands even more. "Back when this story first spun, Princess Kraehe attempted to steal his heart. Tutu went to stop her, but in the end, Femio confessed his love for both of us and Kraehe couldn't steal his heart. I guess with Kraehe now back to Rue and in her storybook now, Femio's directing his attention at Tutu instead."

"Where has he been this whole time since the story restarted?" Chibiusa wondered.

"Suspension, maybe," Fakir shrugged. "I haven't really seen him on campus lately."

"Could he be part of a story?" Chibiusa wondered.

"He's always like that," Duck admitted. "I think he might actually live in this town without the story spinning."

Chibiusa had attempted to open her mouth to speak but was quite rudely interrupted by a mouth full of rose petals. She looked thoroughly unimpressed. At least Tuxedo Mask knew how to appropriately use roses instead of whatever this was as someone in a suit was waving a fan across a basket of rose petals while Femio stood poised with a rose in the sun.

She spit out the rose petals, staring. "Are you following us?"

"I cannot help be enamored by your beauty as well, dear Duck," he leaned backwards dramatically, placing his hand over his heart as he reached over Chibiusa and extended several roses to Duck.

"QUAAAAA!" Duck clamped her hand over her mouth. She knew this story. This wasn't her first encounter with Femio after all. "Oh goodness that scared me."

"Woe is me," Femio placed a hand over his head. "To be caught in between two beautiful ladies! How is a prince to choose?"

"You should go back to that fantasy of dating a storybook character," Fakir said sharply.

"I think he may be hallucinating," Chibiusa wrinkled her nose at him.

"Maybe he's having an affair," Diana suggested, popping out of Chibiusa's backpack.

"You're not helping," Fakir fussed.

"Woe is me!" Femio repeated. "To think, an affair of the heart! I am so stricken by Princess Tutu and her love for me but there is also the beloved and awkward Duck, who may understand my truest form of art!"

"I really don't understand it," Duck protested.

"And I'm pretty sure you have this all wrong in your head," Fakir frowned sharply. He felt like he should be offended that Femio was going after Duck, but there was no way Femio was winning over anyone's heart, no matter Femio's delusions or how many rose petals his servant actually fanned at them.

"Do you not understand the love that can be conveyed through dance?" Femio protested. "The dance of Princess Tutu was nothing short of beautiful!"

"I'm pretty sure this is all in your head," Fakir frowned some more. "Why don't you go bother someone else? I'm pretty sure Duck doesn't want your attention."

"I really don't," Duck agreed.

"Do not worry, fair princess!" Femio seemed to not be listening. "I shall return when your heart understands its true feelings, but then I shall be trapped in the dilemma of who to choose! The princess or the duck? Both are so dashing!" He seemed to twirl off with his legs bent awkwardly before taking a poor attempt at a grand jete down the sidewalk. His servant or assistant or whatever followed behind him, fanning the rose petals as he moved.

"I do not believe I understand him at all," Helios commented.

"I don't think anyone actually does," Fakir shook his head.

Duck fumbled with her bag for a moment. "Say, Fakir."

"Hm?" Fakir hadn't turned to look at her yet, still watching Femio dance with poor form in the distance. Strangely even though he had passed a few girls, he seemed to not pay them any mind.

"I hear the Fire Festival is coming around again. Do you think we could dance together this time?" Duck asked.

Fakir stirred from watching Femio do weird things in the distance. He hadn't thought about the festival for some time, and last time, it was such a mess. Mytho didn't have much of a heart, and Fakir was still fighting against Tutu's existence. He even felt Duck was a hindrance then. "Has a year already passed?"

"Seems so, at least for whatever story's controlling this town. I saw a poster on the bulletin board this morning," Duck nodded.

"I saw that poster in the art building," Chibiusa recalled. "What's this festival about?"

"It's really cool!" Duck suddenly became excited about it, completely forgetting Femio. "It's where you dress up in traditional clothing and dance around the fire! It's said if you dance with someone you love, you'll be together forever! There's also apples involved."

"That does sound like quite the lovely festival," Helios commented, before turning to Chibiusa. "Maiden, would you do me the honor of dancing with you at the festival?"

Chibiusa was pretty sure she turned as red as an apple for a moment. "Of course!" she replied, trying to pretend her heart wasn't fluttering. "Though I really don't know how to dance. Mama and Papa dance all the time, but I never really learned. Fakir, do you think you could write-"

"-It'll mean more if you learn how to do it," Fakir quickly countered her.

Chibiusa fumbled nervously with her bag. "Well um. Do you think you could teach me?" She nervously glanced at Helios before staring back up at Fakir hopefully.

"I could teach you how to dance!" Femio practically leapt out of the bushes at the opportunity.

"QUAAAAA-!" Duck clamped a hand over her mouth.

Femio caught him by the back of the collar. "No one wants that from you, Femio. Go fantasize about your fake relationships with storybook characters. Besides, I'm teaching her."

"So harsh, Fakir," Femio arched his back dramatically with Fakir still holding the back of his collar. He stuck a leg out while his servant or assistant or whatever fanned rose petals at him.

"Whatever," Fakir released his collar, letting the weird student fall to the ground with a melodramatic collapse. He spun on his heels, shoving his hands into his pockets. "It's lunch time. Let's get some food."

Duck nodded several times, feeling her stomach rumble. With a hop and a skip, Duck took off after him.

Helios offered his hand to Chibiusa as the two stepped over the dramatic pile of a dancer. "Nice to meet you, Femio," he offered a friendly greeting as the two followed the other pair to the cafeteria.

Femio flipped himself over to his back, holding a hand over his forehead. "Oh be still, my beating heart! I shall be entrapped in this dilemma of love forever!" In a sharp yet somehow awkward motion, he took to his feet, striding off in some sort of bowlegged releve walk.

 **...**

 **Author's notes:**

Femio is always a joy to have around! I had to include him somehow of course. Is he here for some greater reason? Who knows with this guy.


	15. Le Corsaire

"And 1, 2, 3, and 1, 2, 3," Fakir counted the steps for Chibiusa as she attempted to learn to dance with Helios.

Chibiusa still had no idea what she was doing, and was probably more distracted by actually dancing with Helios than what she was supposed to be doing. She stepped on Helios's feet a few times before tripping.

"That's a bit better," Fakir commented. "You could learn something from how fast she learns, Duck."

"Hey, that's totally mean, Fakir!" Duck fussed, shouting up at him as he simply smiled in return. "Why don't you teach me a few things?!"

He quickly grabbed her hand, drawing her close before she had a chance to object some more. "See, the way to dance the waltz is to lead and follow. If you think too much into this, you'll trip over your own feet. It's a flowing movement, step first out then guide the trailing foot to the leading."

As awkward as Duck was, she managed to follow the simple movements. She understood the concept pretty well, but her form wasn't quite as graceful as Illia's or Fakir's. Her knees were awkwardly bent but at least she turned her feet in the proper direction as she moved.

Chibiusa watched in awe. She didn't believe Duck was as bad as she thought. She clapped for both of them as they finished the demonstration. But as she and Helios stopped clapping, the clapping seemed to continue for a moment more.

"Very good, you two." Mr. Cat approached. He'd quietly slipped into the dance studio during the demonstration.

Fakir watched the teacher approach. "I was pretty sure this studio was unassigned."

"Oh it is, Mr. Fakir," Mr. Cat waved off any concern. "I was drawn here by the dance of love and romance. After all, who better to talk about love and romance and the passions of dance with?"

"I... I just want to learn how to dance at the festival," Chibiusa pointed out, rather taken aback. Granted, she had been thinking about love and romance and actually dancing with Helios, but she didn't want Diana getting the wrong idea and calling her out as having an affair again. Not that she was, since she loved Helios. Then there was Hotaru as well as Mamoru and the other Sailor Guardians... She nearly buried her face into the side of Helios's shirt.

"Worry not, Miss Chibiusa," Mr. Cat held up a finger matter-of-factly. "It is exactly as Mr. Fakir had said. This isn't a dance of overthinking. It is a dance of passion, of one following the other in a flowing motion. Go ahead and give it a try."

Chibiusa wrinkled her nose a bit. She did consider herself a guardian of love, so something like this should come naturally, right? Sure she didn't have the grace of Sailor Moon, but she could certainly dance from her heart, right? She pursed her lips as she stared up at Helios.

"Worry not, Maiden," he reassured her gently. "I'm sure you'll do just fine."

With Helios believing her, she had to get this dance right! She took his hands, following his steps as they moved, one step at a time, first the leading foot, then the trailing foot soon following. It felt a little easier to do after Fakir and Duck's demonstration and the encouragement from her friends and even Mr. Cat.

"I think I'm getting it!" Chibiusa smiled, but quickly tripped over her own two feet as the door suddenly burst open and a flurry of rose petals burst into the studio. "Oh no."

It was as Chibiusa had feared. In waltzed Femio dressed in more traditional European garb, though waltz was a rather loose term for whatever he was actually doing. He twirled a few times, somehow not tripping over his feet before he stopped in front of Duck, extending a hand. "Surely you would dance with _me_ for the Fire Festival."

"Aren't you in love with someone else?" Fakir narrowed his eyes at Femio.

"But my heart is in such pain as I cannot choose!" Femio protested, not that it actually made sense.

"It sure sounds like you're choosing," Fakir frowned. Not that he wanted Femio to really go after either. "Besides, Duck has already chosen her partner."

"I'm really sorry, Femio," Duck apologized. "I want to dance with Fakir."

"Woe is me!" Femio exclaimed, dropping to a knee and leaning backwards with his hand on his forehead. His servant or assistant or whateve fluttered by, fanning rose petals out of a basket onto Femio dramatically. "To think my love would be stolen from me by a corsaire on the high seas!"

"What are you talking about?" Fakir wrinkled his nose at Femio.

"This isn't a ballet, Mr. Femio," Mr. Cat fussed. "Love cannot be bought and sold like pirates on the high seas."

"Woe!" Femio cried, leaning backwards and extending one leg outward as his servant or assistant or whatever, held him at the lower back. "I must find my princess elsewhere!" He suddenly snapped back to standing and exited the studio in some sort of poor excuse for a grand jete, the flower assistant following close behind. The assistant offered a bow and quickly shut the door.

"I really don't understand him," Chibiusa admitted.

Not that anyone else in the room truly did.

But one comment had quickly caught Fakir's attention. "A ballet? I don't really remember one that made so little sense. Which one?"

"I am reminded of _Le Corsaire_ ," Mr. Cat replied. "A ballet of trite love and bad stereotypes where the story just isn't as important as how well each of the ballerinas can dance. It's essentially a series of dance offs."

"That sounds like a really weird ballet," Duck nodded. "What's it about?"

"The story tells of a young slave girl named Medora who's sold to Pasha. The pirate Conrad instead steals Medora and declares his love for her," Mr. Cat explained. "But Conrad's right hand gets jealous and sends Medora back to Pasha. Then there's a large love tangle that involves Medora, Pasha, and another slave girl. But eventually Medora gets back to Conrad. The two are out sailing when a storm hits and they survive the shipwreck by the power of their love."

"Even I find that in poor taste," Chibiusa wrinkled her nose, "and I believe love conquers all."

"We don't often teach this here because it requires pushing the boundaries of dance and that the story isn't all that great," Mr. Cat added, "and this coming from someone who believes in the true power of love."

Fakir glanced at Chibiusa then Duck, considering the similarities to what had been happening in recent events with Femio's actions. Femio was over the top and arrogant normally, but he'd been using such specific phrases for the last few days, Fakir had to wonder.

"Regardless," Mr. Cat added, "if you get a chance to see it, I do recommend it for the sheer fact that the dancers fly higher and hold their poses longer than you'd think possible. Just don't pay attention to the story."

...

"You really believe that Femio is controlled by a story?" Helios looked a little incredulous as the quartet stood within the heart of Gold Crown Town.

"I do, but not quite in the traditional sense," Fakir replied. "By the way Mr. Cat had described it, even without it fully making sense, it almost seems like Femio is taking on the role of Medora as if the roles have been completely flipped across gender lines."

Duck folded her arms, tapping a finger on her forehead. "So you mean that Tutu and I are Pasha and Conrad and Femio is smitten by us both without realizing we're the same person?"

"That's what it seems like," Fakir nodded. "He seems to be mostly after Tutu, so she might be taking the role of Conrad in this story." He pulled the quill and paper from his pocket. "Go ahead and transform. I'm going to write a temporary duplicate of you."

"But won't he come after me?!" Duck worried.

"That's the point," Fakir pointed out. "Femio only appears when you're around. No one actually knows where he lives within the town. If he's the source of the story, then I think you know where this'll go."

"If he's no longer affected by the story, he should cease his attempts to sway you," Helios reasoned.

"Within reason," Fakir added. "This is Femio, and he has some kind of obsession with Tutu still."

"Quaaaa..." Duck clamped a hand over her mouth. She huffed, bapped herself on the cheeks, then resolved what to do. "Okay, let's do this." Feathers surrounded her as she curled up, emerging from the feather storm as Princess Tutu. "Let us try to draw the story out from him."

Chibiusa held her brooch, shouting the commands as she became Super Sailor Chibi Moon as well. "We'll do this together."

Fakir quickly scribbled a few lines and beside Tutu appeared a rather convincing duplicate of Duck. "She'll act and think like you but once the story's complete, she'll merge back with you."

"This is quite surreal," Tutu commented, leaning over to observe the illusion.

"This is pretty weird, I don't think I've ever stared at my other self before!" Duck commented as well, staring back up at Tutu.

"We'll leave this up to you three," Fakir added, tucking into the side street with Helios.

Tutu nodded, stepping out from the trio of girls, one leg in front of the other in fourth position before beginning to turn. Again and again she performed a fouetté turn, pausing only momentarily to bend the supporting leg before returning to releve for the next turn around.

Sure enough, her fouetté turns had garnered the attention of their story-following target. Rose petals flooded the street, followed by Femio's awful attempt at mirroring Tutu's turns. "My beloved Princess Tutu! They said you weren't real!"

Tutu suddenly stopped in her turns in a perfect releve with her two feet planted together. "I am certainly real, Femio." She wound her hands above her head, offering one to him. "Won't you dance with me?"

Femio paused in his turns awkwardly, noticing Duck standing next to Tutu. He glanced between the two with concern. "You both are here! But how can I truly choose? My heart is enslaved to one but burning bright for another! How is a prince to choose between a princess and a maiden?!"

Chibi Moon stood to the side, looking thoroughly unimpressed.

Tutu continued to hold her hand out, recalling Mr. Cat's summary of the ballet. If Tutu were to play the role of Conrad, she'd have to make the first move in the story. The pirate was the one who literally stole Medora from Pasha. She withdrew her hand suddenly, stepping forward on her toes and forcing Femio back to his feet and into her arms. Tutu felt awkward acting so aggressive towards him, especially with Fakir watching from the alley. But it was only to help end another story so she could dance with Fakir at the festival.

"I do believe you should dance with me," Tutu stated forcefully. For a moment, she felt like Kraehe in forcing people to dance with her. It was like Kraehe's attempt at stealing Femio's heart but a bit more forceful. But Tutu certainly didn't blame Kraehe for her actions. She'd been misled by the Raven, after all.

Tutu took Femio's hands, taking the lead in a pas de deux with him as if the roles for each person were reversed. Femio was awkward, and even with the magic Tutu used to help people dance with her, it just felt forced. She paused in her movements to glance up at Chibi Moon, silently pleading her to end the story. There was no passion in the dance, no love behind the movements. It felt disheartening. She could understand why Mr. Cat had said the ballet was awkward. The love seemed unrealistic.

Taking a knee on the side of the street, Chibi Moon summoned the Kaleidoscope. "Please, Kaleidoscope, reveal what's hiding his true dreams!" But as the rainbows burst forward, the dream didn't seem to end. Could Femio be truly following his own dreams and not actually be affected by a story? Or was Femio just so entwined with the story naturally that the dream simply wouldn't show itself.

"Maiden, do not fret," Helios knelt beside her. "Please, borrow my power and my hopes so that you may restore his as well."

Chibi Moon nodded. With Helios beside her, she felt like she could help anyone. He always believed in her when she herself didn't. She held the Kaleidoscope out again. "Reveal what's destroying their dreams! Moon Dream Meditation!"

Rainbows burst forth, finally revealing a duplicate Femio standing beside him.

Tutu nearly sighed in relief. "Please, won't you come with us?" She touched the duplicate, turning it into several leaves accompanied by a handful of rose petals.

"Tutu... I will always love you," the real Femio admitted as he fainted.

Tutu actually did sigh this time. "I suppose that even a story wound around him cannot change who he truly is, but at least he will not be so obsessed."

"We can always hope," Chibi Moon agreed.

...

The fire roared and crackled in the center of the plaza, the couples dancing together around the warm fire in their traditional attire. Helios had donned his priestly robes while Chibiusa had chosen a dress that resembled her princess attire, just a little more traditional for Earth than the Moon.

Duck smiled, watching the pair dance while she leaned against Fakir. "I'm sure that was resolved, even though Femio is still pining for Tutu."

"Some things may never change," Fakir frowned a bit.

"I hope you're not jealous or anything," Duck added. The pair did a twirl and she spotted Lilie standing on the side, gushing over the two as they danced together.

"Jealous? Don't be ridiculous," Fakir replied sharply. "I already know how you feel."

"That's good," Duck smiled. "I'm glad we can dance together like this. You know, like you and me, and not me as an actual duck."

Fakir couldn't deny that it was enjoyable to dance with her again. It wasn't quite like dancing at the Lake, but they were dancing together. Just at the moment they weren't completely as they should be, trapped in the wiles of another story they didn't fully know. But that was what they were working towards, that goal of returning to their true selves in the true Gold Crown Town. That didn't mean he couldn't enjoy the situation just a little bit. "It's nice."

He paused, feeling her suddenly stop in her movements. "What's wrong?"

"Over there," she pointed towards the shadows dancing off the buildings. "I might just be seeing things but for a moment, I really thought that I saw a silhouette of Miss Edel."

Fakir stared at the shadows intently. Edel had burnt herself as firewood in order to save him and guide Mytho and Duck to safety. Her timber had been used to create Uzura, who had been noticeably absent from the story thus far. Chibiusa had also mentioned seeing Edel before arriving. He at first thought it was impossible, but this was now twice that she'd been seen. "A puppet returning to the story."

"Do you think this could be Drosselmeyer's work again?" Duck worried.

"We disassembled that machine," Fakir shook his head. "But I'm pretty sure it's someone familiar with his work. The question is, who?"

 **...**

 **Author's ramblings**

At this point, Drosselmeyer would laugh.

Le Corsaire was recommended by my Tutu fan group, and it literally is as ridiculous as Mr. Cat describes. You watch it for the dancing, not the story. Because the story literally makes zero sense. When I sat down to watch the ballet, I couldn't help thinking Femio would be perfect for it, caught in a dramatic role reversal.

Though let's face it. That ballet literally is the biggest, overly dramatic dance off that a ballet could ever be. It's perfect for Femio.


	16. Team Momoko vs Team Oni

"Edel, truly." Autor looked less than impressed. "I thought you said she had used herself for kindle."

"She did," Fakir stared at the pile of books on the desk in the library. "Someone's pulling strings here. Whoever's spinning the current story is familiar with Drosselmeyer's work."

"It's not like it's an _unknown_ story around here," Autor pointed out. "It is local, even if people in town don't remember it actually became reality."

"There is the problem that spinners aren't common," Fakir added sharply. "It's likely not another descendant of Drosselmeyer, since this particular one is familiar with Chibiusa's home too. Edo is actually a real place. Or at least was, given that it's a historical version of itself."

"And these Japanese legends keep popping up," Autor skimmed over the titles of the books on the desk. "Ones that have been translated to German as well."

"Even the obscure ones, like the _Dream of Akinosuke_ ," Fakir separated the books to indicate the collection where he'd found the legend. " But what bothers me is that this spinner also has a familiarity with Chibiusa's home and her friends. Have you noticed anyone unusual in the library lately? Someone who doesn't belong?"

"Not yet," Autor shook his head, "though someone keeps tracking in leaves. I really wish they'd be more respectful of the books."

Leaves. Why did they keep appearing all the time? There had to be something about those leaves that was a clue to what they were dealing with. Fakir pulled a few books from the shelves, flipping through them, but one caught his attention. "Why is this story missing?"

"That's a good question," Autor stared at the book. He picked it up, flipping to the table of contents. "The title's been removed. Whatever was here was important. I really do wish people would stop defacing books. It's a travesty."

Fakir frowned in concern. "Do you think it's the book men again?"

"Still no movement from the old bookkeeper," Autor shook his head. "Actually, he hasn't moved much at all. It's like he's a background character. Likely whoever's spinning this tale is trying to keep the book men _out_."

Fakir frowned a bit more. "If it's not the book men trying to keep the stories from becoming reality, then who or what is defacing these books?"

...

"Starting today, we're going to have an art competition," Miss Kitter announced. "I'll be creating teams according to your art skills, and you'll be competing with each other to create the most intriguing art collection. You'll also be competing with the other art class as well. So gather up with your assignments and start planning."

Chibiusa skimmed over the list she was given at the start of class as she looked for her name. "Momo! It looks like I'm on your team!" She smiled at her friend brightly.

"So are Kyusuke and Sorano," Momoko added with a smile. "Though I imagine Kyusuke isn't too happy about an art project."

Chibiusa stared at the paper for a moment. Sure enough, the names of her two classmates from Tokyo were listed on it. She couldn't recall seeing them before today. It really was like Duck and Fakir had said. People are suddenly joined to the story world without explanation, as if they'd always been there in the back of class. She glanced around the classroom, easily spotting Shobolan and Artis on the opposite side of the studio with Crocodette and Malon. That would be a challenging team. All four of them were really good.

"Don't make it sound like such a chore, geez," Kyusuke complained, scratching at his head.

Chibiusa nearly fell out of her seat. Nestled in Kyusuke's mop of messy brown hair was a pair of ears that looked like they belonged on a shiba. He also had a tail. She had to clamp a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing at how silly it looked. Sorano standing next to him at least looked like the usual, nerdy, bespectacled Sorano.

"Besides, we could create art about something athletic!" Kyusuke added.

"What about ballet?" Chibiusa suggested, swallowing her giggles. "I bet Fakir, Duck, and Helios would help us out."

"I'm not sure that's really athletic," Kyusuke objected.

"Have you seen the moves they do?" Sorano protested. "Those lifts, those poses, the ability to spin on one foot for so long. That's not only artistic, that's athletic."

Kyusuke frowned at him a bit. "When did you get so knowledgeable on athletics?"

"Ballet is a fascinating subject to study," Sorano replied.

"I think that'd be a great idea," Momoko agreed with Chibiusa. "We could do so much with ballet as our subject."

"I mean, I guess," Kyusuke conceded. He couldn't argue with all three of them wanting that to be the subject.

"That's such a stupid subject." The criticism came from one of the taller students. He was almost completely red skinned with splashes of white and black streaked across his face. On his forehead protruded a peculiar pair of horns. Beside him stood two others who looked similar, though they had white and blue skin with the same painted markings.

"It's a great subject, Daemon," Momoko nearly stuck her tongue out at him.

"There are so many stronger subjects," the blue one added snidely.

"Ogretta, Oniel, Daemon, do you have something that you actually want?" Kyusuke fussed.

"Only to tell you that you'll lose," the blue one, Ogretta, taunted.

"Yeah, that subject is so lame," Oniel, the white one, agreed.

"Whatever," Kyusuke folded his arms. "We'll dance circles around your art."

"We'll just see who the victor truly is," Daemon declared. "Let's leave these losers, team Oni. We'll crush these ballet wussies without a problem." They cackled boisterously as they strode off to the opposite side of the studio.

"Those three really get under my skin," Kyusuke frowned, pressing his shiba ears back against his head. "We're gonna art the pants off them. Let's find those ballet friends of yours."

They quickly gathered some sketching materials, tucking them into their bags, and headed across the courtyard to the dance building. Classes were still in session, but fortunately the balcony in the studio was open to whomever wanted to watch.

The quartet quietly entered in the side door, leaning on the balcony railing. Below them, the ballet class had begun to practice. It was Duck's class and they were working on learning how to dance in pointe shoes. Some of the advanced class was there to assist.

"I had no idea dancing on those shoes was so hard," Chibiusa observed. "Illia makes it look so effortless." So did Princess Tutu, but she kept the secret identity secret for now.

"Maybe... maybe I was wrong about ballet not being athletic," Kyusuke hesitantly admitted.

Down in the studio, Duck was suffering. She'd finally progressed enough as Duck herself to earn her first pair of pointe shoes, and she was beginning to regret her accomplishments. Dancing on pointe as Tutu was so effortless and easy, but as Duck, it was suffering and misery. But she had to do it. She wanted to dance more like Tutu, and be a good partner for Fakir. Even though he probably would say _You dummy. Dance like you_. She wrinkled her nose, losing her balance for a moment and tumbling forward.

"That's a good first attempt," Illia caught her in the tumble. "You just need to work on your balance."

"That's kinda a problem," Duck frowned a bit. "See I'm kinda sorta unbalanced all the time."

"I'm sure with some practice, you'll do great," Illia reassured her.

"Oh look at you, Duck!" Lilie gushed, ensnaring her friend and squeezing her tightly. "Getting compliments from Miss Illia!"

"Li... Lilie... I can't breathe!" Duck attempted to squirm out of her grip until Lilie hugged her tighter, and Duck thought she was going to snap in half. As she bent backwards, she noticed the familiar rabbit-eared pink hair peeking over the balcony railing. She offered a strained wave at Chibiusa.

"Miss Lilie, Miss Duck, stop goofing off!" Mr. Cat hissed. "Or I'll have you M-M-M-M-M-"

"Oh I'm sorry, Mr. Cat, I was just so proud of our little duckling!" Lilie interrupted him, releasing Duck from her grasp.

"Mmmmmmrrrrrr," Mr. Cat growled, reaching for a mouse toy in his pocket. As he glanced up, he noticed the visitors in the balcony. "Miss Chibiusa and friends. What brings you here to this class?"

Chibiusa attempted to hide, but her hair was a pretty dead giveaway. "I'm hoping we're not interrupting, Mr. Cat," she stood on her tiptoes to peer over the balcony railing. "We... Well we have an art assignment. We were hoping that we could use ballet as our inspiration."

"Well what are you standing up there for?" Mr. Cat beckoned them downward. "Come, ballet should be shared with everyone."

None of the quartet had expected an invite down into the studio, but thus far, Chibiusa has had good interactions with Mr. Cat. He seemed a lot friendlier than she'd expected, despite the threats to marry him. The quartet entered the door on the main floor with their sketchbooks in hand, pens and paint brushes peeking out of their bags.

"We were trying not to interrupt," Momoko protested.

"Nonsense," Mr. Cat waved off the concern with the flick of his paw. "How can you truly study ballet from up in the rafters? What is your project exactly?" His tail twitched a bit as he played with the shiny mouse toy with his fingers.

"To create an intriguing art collection," Sorano replied, adjusting his glasses. "Chibiusa suggested ballet, and after our study of movement, I definitely agree this is a great subject for a collection."

"And an incredibly athletic subject too," Kyusuke added, peering around Mr. Cat to watch the ballerinas work on releve-ing with their pointe shoes.

Chibiusa was starting to wonder if he'd been written into the story with nothing else on his mind other than athletics.

"It requires a lot of strength and skill," Mr. Cat nodded, motioning towards the ballerinas. "This class is just starting on learning the art of pointe. It requires a great deal of strength in the legs and the core be able to stand on the toes of those shoes."

Chibiusa turned her attention back to Duck. Her friend was struggling badly with the movements, but she showed no signs of surrender. There was pain and determination on her face. Duck didn't want to give up, no matter how difficult it was. Tutu made it look so effortless, but Duck made it look real.

She turned back to our group. "I have an idea of what we should do for our project. We should show the journey of ballet, from learning pointe all the way to performing in a troupe."

"That's a really good idea!" Momoko agreed. "It always looks so effortless, but we could definitely portray the journey to reach that point."

Chibiusa peered up at him. "Do you think you could help us, Mr. Cat?"

"Of course," Mr. Cat agreed. "Please feel free to observe the classes for your inspirations."

"We really appreciate it!" Momoko smiled.

Duck glanced over at the quartet. It sounded like they had a good project on their hands. She offered Chibiusa a big grin when she finally managed to releve with straight legs on pointe. And then she teetered, careening into Lilie who simply hugged and squeezed her. Duck had a ways to go, but at least Chibiusa being there made things a little better.

 **...**

 **Author's ramblings**

Pointe is really hard, and that's definitely something the anime really portrayed. It's difficult, it's painful, but damn is it pretty.


	17. The Monkey and the Crab

The sounds of birds chirping loudly flooded the attic room. Wearily a hand holding a pan of birdseed emerged from the bird swarm. "Oh man who knew pointe would be so hard?" Duck rolled out of the birds, laying on the floor on her back.

"But you looked so cool," Chibiusa encouraged her. "You really inspired us! I want to make a clay sculpture of you learning pointe for our evolution of ballet!"

"Me?" Duck peered up at her. "Why me?"

"Because of your dedication!" Chibiusa replied. "Sure, the others were learning just like you were, but we could all see how proud you were when you finally got it, how much you tried despite it being so hard. The others agreed we want you to be in our line of ballet art!"

"I never thought I'd be in art like that," Duck admitted. "I'd figured that you'd want Princess Tutu instead."

"She's more of an end point," Chibiusa pointed out. "And besides, Mr. Cat already suggested Fakir and Illia as a reference for that. We need someone who's learning and is really determined."

"Well I do wanna dance pointe like I do as Tutu," Duck admitted. "I never really got the chance the first time through."

"Well now you can!" Chibiusa exclaimed excitedly. "I wanna see you dance pointe! It looks like so much work but it's so pretty! I know you can do it!"

Duck sat up, rejuvenated. "You're right! When have I actually given up?!" Actually it was a few times, when returning Mytho's heart had been so hard she went back to being an actual duck, but that was another story. Literally. "I want to be a good dancer while I have the chance!" She hadn't quite told Chibiusa yet that she was actually a duck or that she'd likely return to being one once this story was complete. For now, she could have her fun while they tried to find the spinner.

She stood up, nearly tripping over her own two feet. "Well I might have to hobble to the studio today. Everything hurts."

...

"I got them! I got all the sketches for the first sculpture!" Chibiusa excitedly waved her sketchbook as she approached. She stopped before her teammates but immediately leapt backwards as she felt a pinch in her leg. She stumbled sideways, landing hard on the sidewalk and skinning her knee. "Oooowwwwie."

"You should watch where you're going, you giant oaf!" the small voice informed her matter-of-factly.

Chibiusa stared down the sidewalk, immediately clamping a hand over her mouth. It was a crab, the kind she'd see at the beach picking things out of the sand. But this crab was wearing a girl's academy uniform. Talking to her. "I'm terribly sorry! I didn't see you there!"

"Of course not," the crab remarked snidely. "You're too busy focused on your lame concept for the art project. It'd be a shame if something were to happen to that notebook."

Chibiusa stared at the crab. "You wouldn't."

"I'll step on you if you touch that notebook," Sorano threatened.

"Sorano!" Momoko chided him.

The crab scuttled over to the notebook, snipping the side with one claw. "Oops."

"Crabberina!" Momoko gasped.

"Looks like you should be more careful," Crabberina jeered as she walked away sideways down the sidewalk. She eventually joined Daemon and his band of miscreants, laughing with them.

"What a jerk!" Kyusuke fussed, kneeling down to pick up the notebook. "You okay, Chibiusa?"

Chibiusa stared at the notebook. All that hard work, snipped in half. She shook her head, regaining her resolve. "I'm fine. We can fix this. No crab is going to ruin our work!" Dusting herself off, Chibiusa rose to her feet, picking up the notebook carefully as to not lose the cut sheets tucked within. She glanced down the sidewalk at the crab and her cohorts. Part of her wondered if this were another story playing out or if Crabberina was just a jerk in general.

"Right!" Momoko agreed. "I bet Miss Kitter has some tape. We could repair the pages."

"Right!" Sorano agreed. "No stupid crab is getting in our way." He turned, heading towards the building.

Chibiusa stared, trying to recall if Sorano had a tail yesterday. It wasn't quite a dog tail like Kyusuke still had, but instead seemed to be more like a monkey. She shook her head. Maybe she'd just forgotten in the excitement of the project.

She shrugged, following the others into the art studio. Perhaps that was just as jarring. Each team had their own section within the studio, but their assigned section was a mess. Clay had been thrown about, the paintbrushes shoved into it, ruining the bristles. The easels were missing a leg.

Miss Kitter hung over the disaster with concern. "Who could do such a thing? This isn't in the spirit of the competition at all."

Chibiusa knit her brow in concern. This wasn't a competition, this was a war. And these sorts of wars only happened with stories involved. She glanced around the room. Most of the classmates were concerned, even Shobolan and Artis had come over with worry.

"Have some of our clay," Crocodette offered them.

"Hey, we have some extra paint brushes," Malon offered.

"We've got an extra easel!" came a shout from across the room.

Chibiusa brightened up. Even with a war going on, the people here were still friendly except for a small group. Daemon's posse was busy stewing in the corner. There was something about that group beyond that they looked like a group of Oni.

Oni. They only appeared in stories, and were pretty much creatures of legend. Oni weren't exactly known for their friendliness, and were often created to be the villains. So far, they'd only really jeered at Momoko and her group, laughing at their misfortune and stewing when things didn't go their way.

But there was a new factor which had her concerned. Crabberina. She'd been aggressive towards the group since Chibiusa had tripped on her accidentally. And she was busy pinching her claws across the classroom at the moment.

Chibiusa stared at the sketchbook. She had an idea. "Miss Kitter, could we go and get more references from the ballet class?" Momoko had moved to object, but Chibiusa pinched her in the side before she could speak.

"That's a great idea," Miss Kitter agreed. "In the meantime, I can work on replenishing your supplies. Go right ahead."

Chibiusa grabbed for a fresh sketchbook, tucking the sliced one inside the front cover, and dragged the other three out of the studio.

"This is sabotage!" Kyusuke fussed as the reached the courtyard.

"It is," Sorano pushed his glasses up his nose. "And I bet I know who did it."

"Team Oni," Momoko frowned. "We can't let them keep doing this!"

"We could sabotage their art project," Sorano strongly suggested.

Chibiusa stared. This wasn't the Sorano she knew anymore. There was a story going on here. Crab and Monkey. Momoko and the Oni. The first was a very famous tale about revenge. The second was possibly the famous Momotaro tale which sometimes did blend in with the Crab-Monkey battles. "We shouldn't start a war here! We'll be no better than they are if we resort to sabotage!"

"I thought you were part of Team Momo!" Momoko glared at her.

"But I am!" Chibiusa protested.

"Then you should fight with me!" Momoko demanded. "We'll topple Team Oni and emerge victorious!"

Chibiusa was certain Momotaro was playing out, as well as the Crab-Monkey battle tale, but she still wasn't sure the source of the story. Right now, she just wanted to delay the battles long enough. Of both stories, most of the characters _died_. "We shouldn't be so hasty!"

"If you won't come with us, you're no longer part of Team Momo!" Momoko declared sharply, turning on her heels. The two boys followed her back into the building.

That stung. She knew that Momoko was just following her part in the story, but it still stung. She sniffled, opening her bag and waking up her companion. "Diana, find the others. We have two violent stories playing out right now, and I'll need their help!"

The tiny gray kitten in the school uniform leapt out of her bag. "I'll get them quickly, Small Lady! Stay safe!"

Chibiusa nodded, grabbing her brooch in her hand. She had to stop this before the stories met their violent conclusions. If Chibiusa couldn't stop them, perhaps Chibi Moon could appeal to them. She nodded, mostly to herself before dashing into the building.

The halls were empty, which provided perfect cover for a proper transformation. In a burst of light and ribbons, she transformed, rushing down the hall and into the art studio. She was hoping for the best, but she had gotten the worst. Clay flew across the room. People threw pencils and paint brushes like deadly javelins.

The fighting had been localized around Team Momo and Team Oni while the rest of the classroom had backed away. Miss Kitter had busied herself with trying to dissuade the fight, but it wasn't working. Instead the teacher was covered in bits of clay and paint.

"Stop!" Chibi Moon shouted, her voice echoing in the studio, augmented by her innate super sonic ability. "I am Sailor Chibi Moon, guardian of hopes and dreams! Right now, your fighting is destroying each other's dreams!"

"Sailor Chibi Moon?" Kyusuke repeated with a hint of recognition.

Chibi Moon had almost lost her composure. Even in this story, somehow Kyusuke had recognized her. He was a fan of Sailor V, so perhaps there was part of him that still existed in this story beyond the obsession with athletics. "That's right. I want to protect your beautiful dreams, and with all this fighting, they're going to be destroyed! We need to end this fighting now."

"That's high and mighty coming from some moon rabbit," Ogretta jeered.

Chibi Moon wanted to frown but continued to stand strong. She had to try to stop the fighting before it became worse than paint and clay. "What good will come from harming each other?"

"No more competition!" Sorano shouted.

Chibi Moon did frown. This was going to be harder than she thought.

...

"Stories that devolve into violence?" Fakir frowned sharply. "These stories are getting more and more dangerous. The spinner is playing with people's lives here!" Whoever was controlling this new world certainly had the sadistic tendencies Drosselmeyer did. The spinner must be a big fan or something.

"That's what she said! I'm really worried that something might go wrong!" the tiny kitten worried. "Or that Small Lady may be hurt trying to do this on her own."

Fakir peered around the door into the dance studio. Much of the class had already filtered out, but Duck was still within. "Remedial, again. She must've dozed off in class."

Diana peered up at him before glancing back at Duck in the classroom. "Is this a common thing, Mr. Fakir?"

"Unfortunately," he huffed. "I'll take care of this." He quickly strode into the classroom. "Mr. Cat, if I may suggest."

"What is it, Mr. Fakir?" Mr. Cat turned, pawing at one of his ears in frustration.

Fakir approached unflinchingly. "Chibiusa and her friends requested some more references in our free time, so I think this would be a great opportunity for some more practice for Duck. Since remedial isn't working," he sharply added.

Duck puffed up angrily but didn't shout at him yet. _Fakir, you jerk!_

"Well, that does sound like a reasonable suggestion," Mr. Cat considered the idea, tapping a finger on his whiskered cheek. "Alright, go ahead. I do hope that you can keep her from spacing out during class."

"I'm not a miracle worker, but I'll do what I can," Fakir offered him some reassurance as he quickly grabbed Duck's wrist and dragged her out of the classroom.

"Fakir, you jerk!" she finally hissed at him.

"I just got you out of remedial, didn't I?" he pointed out. "Besides, I promise we'll actually dance together later. Right now, Chibi Moon needs your help. There's a pair of violent stories playing out in the art studio."

"QUAAAAAAA!" Duck quickly clamped a hand over her mouth. "That sounds scary but we can't let Chibi Moon take the fight on alone. Where's Helios?"

"Already on his way," Fakir replied as they exited the dance building, heading for the art building. He was fearing for the worst. The legends and tales were getting more and more dangerous each time a new one popped up. They were appearing more quickly and now in tandem with each other. He had to find a way to overcome the spinner writing this tale, even if he could only still write about Duck.

But that did give him an idea. He patted his back pocket. His notebook and quill were still there. "If we need to, I'm going to write in some more power for you. But right now, we need to hurry and assess the situation." He opened the door, allowing Duck to quickly grand jete in the door in a flurry of feathers and light as she transformed into Princess Tutu. Fakir quickly followed behind, weaving through the hallways, nearly colliding into Tutu as she suddenly stopped at the art studio door.

He peered around her, his heart suddenly skipping a beat. In the center of the art studio lay Chibi Moon, covered in paint and clay, completely unmoving as Helios leaned over her to protect his maiden. Her eyes were closed, her arms hanging limp at her sides, her Kaleidoscope fallen from her fingers.

Tutu gasped. It couldn't be… her worst fear had come to life. Her roommate now lay lifeless on the art room floor. The story had claimed its first victim. "Chibi Moon!"

 **...**

 **Author's drabble**

The two stories here are both deadly in their original forms. The Crab and the Monkey is a particularly gruesome tale that involves a lot of bodily harm and revenge. Momotaro is pretty much an all out war. The spinner is getting serious.


	18. Momotaro

"Chibi Moon!" Tutu's voice rang out in the quiet studio. The fighting had ceased before she arrived, the entire studio covered in paint and clay and broken easels. Her voice cracked in panic as she stared at her roommate's lifeless form. This was exactly what they had feared. The spinner had turned things deadly and Chibi Moon had gotten caught in the fray.

Fakir leaned against the wall just outside the classroom. There was no way he could've prepared for this.

"She shouldn't have gotten in the way!" Oniel fussed. "She wasn't involved in this!"

"You shouldn't have been so aggressive!" Kyusuke shouted from the opposite side.

"How can you blame this on Oniel!?" Daemon hissed.

"Enough!" Momoko shouted. "We're all to blame! This isn't what was supposed to happen, this isn't what I wanted at all! I just wanted to take down Team Oni!"

"We just wanted that damn goody-two-shoes Momoko to lose!" Ogretta shot back. "This... it wasn't supposed to end like this!"

Fakir watched the scene in shock. Chibi Moon had attempted to stop the fighting but something had gone terribly wrong. There were no signs of blood, just lots and lots of paint. But Chibi Moon still hadn't moved, her Kaleidoscope and Carillion both fallen from her hands, laying lifelessly on the floor.

The words thrown back and forth over her lifeless form were enough for him to recognize at least one of the stories at play. "I know this story. It's Momotaro," Fakir quietly informed Tutu, "but this isn't how it ends. Momotaro defeats the Oni with his band of friends. But it may be the second story that's causing everything to go wrong, and the one who knows it is down."

Fakir had seen some bad things during his time in the previous story, but none had quite reached this level. "Approach her. I'm going to write you a new power." He ducked back into the shadows.

Tutu glanced worried over her shoulder, but she trusted Fakir. She trusted him and his writing ability. She trusted his heart. Step by step, the ballerina approached her fallen friend. The fighting had quieted again, neither side wanting to strike first again. To the left was certainly the Oni, the unusual people in bright colors with white and black markings on their faces. They sported horns and large teeth and other features that painted them as particularly intimidating despite being currently covered in paint.

To the right was Momoko and her group. Chibiusa had mentioned two of her friends had been also pulled into Gold Crown Town, and they were easy to pick out next to Momoko. It also was pretty easy to tell Momoko was now playing the role of Momotaro given her name and the aggressive stance she was taking against the other side.

As Tutu took another step, she felt it, the power of words pulling at her being. She didn't fight them. They were Fakir's. She could hear his voice in her mind, feel the warmth of his heart as he gifted her with more power than she had before. A sudden releve, Tutu leaned forward in a deep arabesque, outstretching her arm delicately towards the fallen Chibi Moon and Helios still leaning over her.

"This fighting will only result in tragedy," she informed them, the words spilling from her lips like ink across a page. "But these actions are not your own. You are all greater than the pulls of war and aggression." _Good wording_ , Tutu thought to herself. "But these battles do not have to end so violently."

Tutu shifted her weight, pulling her outstretched leg to the front and curling her arms out, one above and one to the side. She tilted her head slightly to the side, closing her eyes before reaching both arms upward. "Please release all your hatred and replace it with hope. Let me dance for you."

This was a first. Normally she danced with the source of the story, but this time, she had another goal in mind. She could hear Fakir's desires were the same as hers. She didn't want this to be the end of Chibi Moon's tale. Tutu suddenly stepped forward into fourth position, quickly releve-ing and spinning in fouetté turns. Over and over, she turned, plied, then spun again.

Roses began to form at her feet, lilies soon thereafter. They spread outward, covering the back of the studio with their flowers and vines like an entire garden suddenly springing to life. The flowers bloomed and opened as the people around her had suddenly begun to regain control of their own decisions. She continued to spin and spin and spin, winding the hope and love the people in the art studio truly had for one another.

Slowly, the brooch underneath Chibi Moon began to glow a brilliant pink warm light. Her clothing burst into pure light, transforming into her layers of pink princess dress. A crescent moon appeared on her forehead.

"Princess Small Lady Serenity," Helios sat back on his feet as she began to stir.

"A moon princess?" Kyusuke observed. "Princess Kaguya? Like in that ballet?"

Tutu suddenly stopped her turns, winding her hands over her head and extending a hand. "Princess Small Lady Serenity, will you dance with me?"

SL Serenity stirred, pushing herself up from the ground. She patted her chest for a moment, feeling her heartbeat once again. She peered up, seeing Tutu extending her hand. This entire time she'd been here, she'd never once danced with Tutu. She never really considered herself graceful or able to dance, but she'd taken dance lessons from Fakir and even Mr. Cat. She also knew that this was part of Tutu's ability to dance with anyone.

SL Serenity glanced back towards the entrance. Through the doorway, she could barely make out Fakir in the shadows. She took to her feet, taking the extended hand in her own. She began to move as if she'd always known how a pas de deux even worked, the magic of Tutu's dance guiding her own. She could feel her strength returning to her, the life returning to her eyes and the hope to her heart.

The classroom watched on in awe at the grace and life of the dance, the hope between the two of them inspiring and calming. Duplicates formed among some of the fighting, quickly turning into leaves even without Tutu's touch. They had cast off their own story, creating their own path willingly and writing a new ending to Momotaro.

Fakir slumped down against the wall. He'd run out of pages, but fortunately there were just enough to give this story a better ending.

...

Night had fallen and the fighting had completely stopped. They'd claimed the garden gazebo as their own to meet up and discuss the events that had transpired in the classroom. They also wanted to offer Chibiusa a warm celebration for her safe return to them. They sat around the hearth in the gazebo, warming their hands and marshmallows.

"Maiden, I cannot apologize enough, I was unable to protect you." Helios knelt before Chibiusa.

"Helios, you did everything you could," Chibiusa shook her head. "I'm just glad you weren't hurt in the process." She rubbed at her shoulder. Her body still felt sore, but after that ordeal, she honestly couldn't blame it for shouting back at her.

"I still don't actually understand what happened," Fakir shook his head. "You were covered in paint, but nothing should've affected you like it did."

"It shouldn't have," Chibiusa shook her head. "It's like one moment I was standing in the middle of the fight, getting splattered with paint, clay, and paint brushes, then the next, I felt like the life was being torn from me, like something was pulling it away."

"Do you think the spinner was trying to kill her?" Duck worried.

"I'm not entirely certain," Fakir shook his head, "but I would reason that he wanted to make it look like the fighting from the story had caused it. Momotaro was a pretty violent story."

"The second one at play was _The Battle of the Ape and the Crab_ ," Chibiusa informed them. "In most versions, nearly everyone in the story dies."

"QUAAAAA!" Duck clamped a hand over her mouth. "Gee that sounds pretty scary."

"Fortunately you all arrived before everyone began an all-out brawl and ended the story as it was meant to be," Chibiusa added. "Your writing is really powerful, Fakir, especially when you channel it through Princess Tutu."

"Duck is the only thing I can write about," Fakir admitted. "It just ended up being more powerful than I had expected. That form you took..."

"That's me still," Chibiusa admitted, pulling the crispy marshmallow from the stick. "My full name is Usagi Small Lady Serenity. Chibiusa's just a nickname. That's what I look like when I'm at home in the 30th century. When I'm not in the palace, I look like this. I like to be a normal girl when I'm not being a princess."

"Hey, look at that, we're both princesses!" Duck laughed.

"We are!" Chibiusa smiled.

"And you really looked like a Princess Kaguya," Duck added. "Everyone in the room seemed to think you were with that crescent moon on your forehead."

"I guess I did," Chibiusa nodded. "I'm just... I'm really glad that you two were able to revive me. I really didn't want my story to end like that. And I got to dance with Tutu. I don't think I've ever danced like that before, not that I'm sure that I could again."

"That was half Tutu and half Fakir making that happen," Duck admitted with a laugh.

"Speaking of which," Fakir stood up, extending a hand to Duck. "I believe I promised you a dance."

Duck flushed red.

"I want to see you both dance!" Chibiusa cheered them on. It was nice to see something happy after everything that transpired. Everything hurt. Everything felt painful. But she was alive again and now she wanted to see them dance. "Please dance for us!"

"Well I uh..." Duck stammered, taking his hand. Ever since this story began, she had wanted to dance with Fakir again, but something had always come up. Each time, Fakir had said he would dance with her, not Tutu, but something still always interrupted them.

"Gee." She leaned into him as he extended their paired arm. He lunged into a plie while she extended a leg back into an arabesque, using his hands to stabilize and support her movements. "How could I say no?"

He shifted his weight, wrapping an arm around her waist as she stood straight once again. In a swift movement, he picked her up as she leapt up into a grand jete. As he turned, she held the pose gracefully. It was like how they had danced in the lake. Admittedly, Fakir had missed that dance. It was something he couldn't do after they'd returned to their true forms, as dancing with an actual duck didn't work out all that well. If they were to conclude the story, he'd get at least one last dance in with her.

Chibiusa and Helios watched in awe as the two danced together. She was certain that Duck was a much better dancer than she thought she was when Duck actually put her heart into it. Right now, Chibiusa could feel the warmth between them, the passion in their moves. It felt different than the awkward duckling in Mr. Cat's classes.

"I think I've gotten better," Duck admitted as he set her back on her feet. She turned to face him as he wrapped his hands around her waist, she wrapped hers on his shoulders.

"Don't ruin the moment." He leaned forward in a deep lunge as she slid into a split on the ground.

"You're mean, you know that?" Duck teased.

Chibiusa leaned into Helios. For a day that almost ended in tragedy, the night was turning out to be pretty nice.

...

"You want to what?!" Chibiusa stared at Momoko, Kyusuke, and Sorano in surprise.

"You missed the whole thing!" Sorano pushed his glasses up his nose. "There was this girl, Sailor Chibi Moon. She tried to stop the rivalry between us and Team Oni."

"And suddenly, she died," Kyusuke added with emphasis.

"That sounds terrifying!" Chibiusa exclaimed, pretending to not have been there.

"But then a ballerina princess came in!" Momoko gushed. "She was really pretty! She spun and spun and spun and revived the fallen Chibi Moon, turning her into a princess too!"

"It's a pretty good story, right?" Sorano nodded assuredly. "We've talked it over with Team Oni. We're going to do a joint project with them. They'll be creating art for the first part with all the fighting, and we're doing art of the revival."

Chibiusa was speechless.

"See, I knew she'd be on board with this!" Momoko hugged her friend. "We'll win this art contest for sure, teamed up with our greatest rivals and friends, Team Oni!"

Chibiusa still wasn't sure what to say, but at least the two teams had become friends and the war between Momotaro and the Oni had come to a close.

 **...**

 **Author's notes**

The stories here are definitely a mishmash. We have Momotaro on one side (and I couldn't resist playing on Momoko's name) and The Ape and the Crab. Both of them in their original forms were pretty violent. The first was an epic tale involving great battles while the latter was a tale of revenge. There are also hints of Princess Kaguya that have been present since the story began.

Poor Chibs seems to have been caught in the middle of these violent stories. Was Chibiusa specifically targeted in this story or was she just in the wrong place at the wrong time? Hm. I do wonder.

I couldn't resist the cute epilogue in this chapter. We need some cute after what has happened.


	19. Puppets

"Back again, Fakir?" the librarian bat hung upside down at the book checkout counter.

"I just can't seem to stay away from this place," Fakir shrugged. "There's been a few stories that have grabbed my attention lately."

"You can check them out, you know," the bat suggested. "You haven't met your limit."

"It's quieter here," Fakir protested. It wasn't completely true. His dorm room wasn't noisy at all. Helios was a particularly quiet roommate, which left Fakir plenty of time to read and peruse the books he'd borrowed. But at the moment, he wanted to flip through a few compendiums, seeking any other legends that had been translated from Japanese to German. If he could familiarize himself with them, he might be able to identify them more quickly. "I'll just be in the back."

"Just holler if you need something," the bat offered as Fakir left the checkout desk.

Fakir climbed the stairs towards his usual spot in the loft, scanning the area as he reached the top. No sign of Autor, surprisingly. Each time he'd visited, Fakir always found Autor puttering about the library or buried in a pile of books about legends. But this time, Autor seemed noticeably absent. Perhaps he'd puttered back to the music building to practice piano.

Shrugging, Fakir perused the books, spotting a few titles of compendiums with foreign-sounding names. He pulled the books, flipping through them and noticing several of the stories had been mercilessly ripped from them. The next compendium had met the same fate, as had the next and the one after that. Someone was trying to prevent them from knowing what legend would arise next.

He left the books on the table, trodding down the stairs and down the hallway. There were copies of books in multiple places, and Fakir knew where most of them were hidden. He opened up one of the doors, pushing the sliding ladder towards the end of the room. Climbing up a few rungs, he sat on the ladder, reaching out to pull the copies of the compendiums off the shelves. "Missing. Missing missing missing!" This spinner was crafty.

Shoving the books back on the shelf, he went to the next room, nearly tripping over himself in surprise as he came face to face with Edel. "Edel!"

"Why hello there, Fakir," she greeted him warmly.

"So you really are here," Fakir observed. "But why are you here? You had burnt yourself as kindling to save us before. Or are you a new Edel?"

"I do recall such a thing," Edel stated, not really answering any of his questions. "I do recall the pas de deux as well as you all were reunited."

Whoever had written Edel in was also familiar about the changes to the original story. Perhaps this was a trick. He reached out and tapped her on the shoulder.

She didn't flinch or even move, continuing to stare at him with a calm expression. "I can assure you, Fakir, that I am indeed really here."

Fakir frowned a bit. Something was off, but he couldn't quite put a finger on it. Since it seemed that Edel was the same, he knew that direct questions were not an option. She'd just cryptically skirt around a direct answer. "So that leaves the question, why are you here in the library?"

"That is a mystery, isn't it?" she answered cryptically.

Fakir frowned some more. Perhaps that's too direct. "Do you know why the pages are missing from the books?"

"Someone doesn't want you seeing them," Edel finally replied with an actual answer.

"Are you working for the new spinner?" Fakir immediately followed up.

"I am a creation of Drosselmeyer, nothing more," she replied.

The words struck him as odd. If she had been created by the new spinner, she likely would've avoided that piece of information with one of her cryptic, evasive answers. But that answer was incredibly direct.

The world that was spinning was still the world that Drosselmeyer had created. The characters from the previous books had returned. Even he and Duck had returned to their old lives as if nothing had changed. This was still Drosselmeyer's Gold Crown Town. Perhaps that was something that the new spinner, no matter how powerful, still couldn't change. "Did you insert yourself into this story?"

"Who can say?"

There was the evasive answer he was expecting. But even as evasive as it was, it was also an answer. She was part of this world that Drosselmeyer had created. She'd destroyed herself the first time to alter the story, but she was still part of this world that had been revived and recreated.

That left the reason why she had appeared to Chibiusa. It seemed to him that Edel was a wild card, acting on her own during the story, mostly from the background until now. Chibiusa had seen her. Duck had seen her silhouette. Perhaps she was here for a reason. Perhaps she was just stuck here like the rest of them. "Did you bring Chibiusa here?"

"Perhaps."

That was more direct of an answer than he'd expected. "What is your goal here?"

"You are Drosselmeyer's descendant, perhaps you already know the answer."

Fakir stared at her for a moment. "Are you trying to hint at something?"

"Perhaps."

He really didn't expect much of an answer to that question. Perhaps he could figure something out here. "You gave Chibiusa Drosselmeyer's book in her world."

"Correct."

"Because of it, she's now here."

"Correct."

She was hinting at something. "Was it to help us find the spinner?"

"Perhaps. But the spinner also seems to desire here as well."

That was more of an answer than he'd expected. "He's targeting her." The ordeal in the art studio. Chibiusa had described it as the life was being pulled from her. That's a very dramatized way to describe death, but it was likely something he'd find in a fantasy story or a badly written romance novel. Not that he'd read the latter. "But why?"

"There is a reason."

"And you're not going to tell me, are you?" Fakir frowned a bit.

"It is a story I do not fully know."

"The missing stories," Fakir reasoned. "Someone is purposely removing them, but the book men still haven't moved."

Edel didn't respond, simply standing impossibly still as she let him think aloud.

And he was considering ideas. The book men operated outside of the story, fully aware that one was occurring. But thus far, they hadn't shown any signs of movement. Fakir had visited the book store several times, and the book seller seemed to be nothing more than a painting on a backdrop. It was possible that this story was operating in a way that the book men weren't aware or had simply been unable to find.

But that left the question as to who was ripping the books apart. "Is the spinner _in_ the story?"

"Who can say?"

That was either an evasive answer or, "Do you know?"

"I do not."

That was more direct than he'd expected. She wasn't the spinner's creation. She was a result of Drosselmeyer's story springing back to life, somehow with her own agenda within this story. And somehow, she hadn't been caught. Perhaps it was like with Helios. She was a wild card, unmoved by the story playing out.

That gave him an idea. He pulled the paper and a quill from his back pocket. "I've got something I need you to do, Edel."

She simply stared at him intently as he began to write. His quill flowed across the paper like water in a stream. The words appeared on the page, and Edel finally moved, tilting her head just a bit curiously at him.

He paused in his writing, watching for any sort of interference. The story had become dangerous to a point where Chibiusa had died. He expected the spinner to come after him at some point, but so far, Fakir had remained reasonably untouched. Surely the spinner was aware of him, but Fakir wasn't entirely certain _how_ aware.

But as he wrote, no one had interfered. He continued to write. "This is something you can do, right?"

"As it is written," she replied.

Fakir continued to scribble words on the page. He wasn't really writing about someone else, technically. He was writing some instructions for Edel to follow to help out Duck and subsequently Chibiusa. He could only control the world around Duck, and right now, he wanted to include Edel into this world. He was concerned. Something was happening and he needed a contingency plan. He didn't want to think of dying again, but he needed to ensure the ones who could save this story were safe.

He finished the writing, dotting the period emphatically before looking up. Edel and twisted a bit, suddenly pulling up like a puppet pulled out of a theater and disappearing.

Fakir shoved the paper back into his pocket. The rest was up to him at this point. He had to find out why these stories were being ripped apart and what they meant before they became worse. The trends in the title seemed to indicate they were Japanese legends, but a handful of books had removed legends that inspired ballets. He wasn't as familiar with some of them, leaving him to hope that the legends wouldn't be as violent as the last pair.

Then again, he knew not to get his hopes up. This spinner seemed to have Drosselmeyer's sadism and disregard for lives.

Fakir frowned a bit, turning and moving down the hall. He hoped he could find a book that hadn't been defaced, but the more sections he checked, the more he wasn't getting his hopes up.

But the next door he opened, he found something he didn't expect. The floor was covered in leaves and teapots, and in the center was Autor, unconscious. That explained why he hadn't seen Autor all day. Fakir knelt down, feeling for a pulse on his neck. He was alive still, not subjected to the violent wiles of whatever story was playing out here.

Autor stirred. "Fakir?"

"Good to see you're in one piece," Fakir admitted, rolling Autor up to a sitting position and wrapping his arm around his own shoulders. "I'm going to get you back to the dorms."

"No, you fool!" Autor protested quickly. "You need to get out of here! The stories are spinning again. That shapeshifter, I'm sure he's the source of this story!"

Fakir wrinkled his nose a bit. "You act like we haven't been talking for the past month."

"Month?!"" Autor exclaimed. "I've been stuck in this weird, creepy room since this story began again!"

Fakir stared incredulously at Autor for a moment. "Who have I been talking to?"

"You just can't keep your nose out of things, can you, spinner?"

Fakir quickly turned, reaching for whatever sharp objects were nearby. He couldn't find any so he grabbed a teapot. In the doorway stood a perfect replica of Autor, from his sharp speech to his even sharper glare behind his glasses. "Who are you?"

"I thought it would be amusing to leave you in this story," the impostor evaded the question, "but it seems you're too smart for your own good. If you could've just stayed out of the library, you could've seen this story to the end."

"That's like asking someone not to breathe," Fakir shot back.

The impostor pushed the glasses up his nose, his form shifting. His hair turned a dark green, trailing down his back. The glasses disappeared and his eyes shifted to an emerald green.

"What the hell?" Fakir stared. It was like looking into some strange, freaky mirror.

"Seems I'll be taking your place from now on," the impostor proclaimed. "Enjoy the end of the story. Oh wait, you'll be stuck here! Ahahahahahaha!" He slammed the door, locking it behind him as he cackled down the hallway.

 **...**

 **Author's notes**

No ballets or stories winding this time, but it seems that Fakir and Autor have become victim to the spinner's malicious whimsy. At least Edel might help turn this around. Maybe.


	20. Fish, particularly carp

Duck and Chibiusa stared. They stared and stared and stared.

Chibiusa finally spoke first. "What are you doing?"

The two had left campus for a short while, travelling towards Edo for art supplies. But their plans had been derailed when they saw a familiar weirdo standing in only tights, covered in green glitter body paint and sporting a pair of wings held onto his shoulder with a green ribbon. "It's art, Chibiusa," Femio proclaimed, standing on one foot with a bent leg, the other attempting something that neither girl could actually identify.

"I don't get it," Duck tilted her head.

"You're just not cultured enough," Femio stated arrogantly.

"I'm pretty sure that's _not_ it," Chibiusa wrinkled her nose.

"He looks like a fairy!" Diana pointed out, peeking out of Chibiusa's bag.

Femio suddenly shifted, placing both feet on the ground and leaning backwards, placing a hand on his forehead. Rose petals fluttered out of somewhere, though Chibiusa was certain she caught sight of his assistant with a folding fan and a basket behind the columns up the stairs. "I'm a sylph, not a fairy."

"Riiiiiight." Chibiusa really didn't buy it.

"Surely you know how sylphs are alluring," Femio continued. "I hope to attract the attention of Princess Tutu once again. Surely I'll make her my love."

"Yeah, I don't think that's happening," Chibiusa wrinkled her nose some more.

"Tell her I'll be waiting near the old windmill at the edge of town!" Femio added, dramatically posing in the sunlight.

"Femio!"

"QUAAAAA!" Duck clamped a hand over her mouth as someone appeared in the entrance to the performance hall. If the shouting hadn't frightened her, it was the source that did. Standing on the top of the stairs was some odd mishmash of a carp and a man, colored brilliant orange with white and black spots, a fish face, and a more human-like body.

Chibiusa had to clamp a hand over her mouth to keep from shouting as well.

"Femio!" the fishman boomed. "You're supposed to be advertising the upcoming student ballet, not prancing around like a fairy!"

"It's art, Mr. Fishman!" Femio protested. "I am an alluring sylph, not a fairy."

"Go hand out the fliers else you won't get paid today!" Mr. Fishman shouted. He frowned with his big fish lips, watching Femio prance off down the street. He strode down the stairs with his human legs, approaching the two girls. "I hope he didn't cause you both any trouble."

The two quickly shook their heads in unison, not saying a word.

"I swear he'd flirt with a windmill if he had the chance," Mr. Fishman dug into his pocket, producing a billfold for the pair. "I'm Gurn Fishman. I hope you will attend this grand performance put on by the school."

Chibiusa moved first, taking the offered billfold. " _Princess Kaguya_. Hey this is the one that Fakir and Helios are in!"

"I didn't know they were doing it here in the main theater," Duck peered at the billfold over Chibiusa's shoulder.

"You should come to the pre-show party," Mr. Fishman invited them. "It's tomorrow night. Please come with your friends. We'd be happy to have you along." He waved the two off, trapsing back up the stairs and into the theater.

"That was... interesting," Chibiusa nodded, staring down at the paper in her hands. "Are fish people normal here?"

"Nothing is normal," Duck shook her head. She stared at the stairs again. "Chibiusa, there's something I should tell you. I'm really a-" She cut herself off as a rush of rose petals overtook them both and Femio pranced in the distance.

"Something wrong, Duck?" Chibiusa knit her bow in concern.

Duck frowned. "It's Femio again. Let's just head to Edo." She grabbed Chibiusa's wrist, heading off to the forest torii that lead into Edo. She couldn't tell Chibiusa about her true self with Femio prancing around like some weird glitter fairy.

After everything that had happened a few days ago when the story had turned violent, Duck resolved to tell Chibiusa about herself. Her _real_ self. They'd spent months together, and Duck still hadn't told her. But now that Duck had learned more about Chibiusa, she felt that Chibiusa should learn more about her.

She stopped in the forest by the torii gate. Caws crowed in the distance. Wind rustled the trees and bamboo. Somewhere in the distance was a chime bell. "Chibiusa I need to tell you something."

Chibiusa knit her brow in concern again. "Something's bothering you, isn't it?"

Duck nodded emphatically. "I well... ever since a few days ago..."

A few days ago, the day Chibiusa actually died. Again. She'd had her heart pretty much ripped out by Mistress 9 before, but this time felt different. It felt like someone or something was purposely trying to target her with stories. If it hadn't been for Duck and Fakir, the spinner would've won. "If it's about the deadly stories..."

Duck shook her head quickly. "No it's not about that at all. Well kind of it is, since that really made me feel like nothing is going to be permanent with this world, not that I actually expected it since all stories come to an end and all."

"Breathe, Duck," Chibiusa attempted to slow her friend down.

Duck sucked in a deep breath for a moment. "Okay, it's about what happened after. You told me your real name, but really I haven't told you about me. There's more to me than just Tutu and all."

"Of course there is," Chibiusa smiled sympathetically. "It's not like we have to tell everything right off the bat. Where'd the fun in that be?"

"Well, it would be a one-act ballet at that point," Duck pursed her lips for a moment. "But but but that's not the point. I want to tell you about the real me, the me I'll return to once this story ends. I'm really a-" she quickly cut herself off as she heard the familiar sound of a barrel organ playing in the distance.

"What is that noise?" Chibiusa's attention darted around.

"Miss Edel!" Duck recognized the tune playing. "She's the only one who ever played that barrel organ."

"The one who gave me the book," Chibiusa recalled.

"She was a creation of Drosselmeyer," Duck explained. "But after fighting Kraehe in a rough battle, she used herself as kindling to create a fire to guide us to safety."

"S-she burnt herself?!" Chibiusa yelped.

"She's a puppet," Duck clarified. "Or rather was. She was supposed to be the narrator but she started developing feelings like a real person. But that's just it, she's Drosselmeyer's character. I don't know what she's doing here."

"Fakir did mention that the spinner was probably intimately familiar with Drosselmeyer's work," Chibiusa recalled. "But something's been bothering me. How was a puppet in Tokyo when my world isn't a story?"

"I don't really know," Duck shook her head. "But I want to find out. C'mon!" Duck took off down the path, through the torii gate and into Edo. People crossed back and forth on the busy main street, carrying about their scripted business. But at the side, standing next to a building was Edel, dressed in a kimono and turning the crank on her barrel organ. "There!"

"That's definitely the woman who gave me Drosselmeyer's book in the library!" Chibiusa recalled. "Though she wasn't wearing a kimono. But I guess, when in Edo, wear a kimono."

Duck wove through the sea of people, Chibiusa following her closely, and the pair managed to reach Edel safely.

"Well hello, Duck, Chibiusa," Edel greeted them both. "It is good to see you both."

"So you remember us then!" Duck smiled a bit. "But why are you here?"

"That is quite the mystery, isn't it?" Edel evaded the question. Fakir may have scripted things out, but she still had her evasive habits. There were things even he couldn't write out.

Duck pursed her lips together. "That really isn't helping."

"Perhaps this will do instead." Edel opened up a compartment, removing a small amber gem that was carved in the shape of a carp. "It is said such carp promote longevity and a healthy life. Perhaps this will protect you in your journey."

Chibiusa stared at the gem. She was familiar with the symbolism, but something about a carp necklace really struck her. She lived a long time due to the power of the Silver Crystal. She was already well over 900 years old, but a few days ago, she felt like her life would be cut short, that she wouldn't live to see 910. She took the carp in her hand, admiring the artistry in cutting an amber stone so intricately to make the scales, the fins, and even the whiskers.

"Miss Edel," Duck interrupted the silence. "Who is pulling the strings?"

"It is a mystery, isn't it?" Edel once again evaded the question. "For now, try not to let the ink run dry. The story hasn't yet concluded, after all. And there are those who wish to see you survive to the very end." She turned on her toes, cranking the barrel organ as she meandered off down the alleyway.

Duck stared for a moment before practically leaping down the road to follow her, but as expected, as soon as she turned the corner, Edel was gone, leaving behind a jade gem carved in the shape of a crouching dragon. She knelt down, picking up the gem. "That was... Is she trying to protect us?"

"I'm not sure either," Chibiusa shook her head. "Everything she said was cryptic."

"That's how she is," Duck admitted. "But she tried to help us before. She helped us escape the underground pond and saved Fakir. Even if the new spinner put her into the story, it seems she's still the same Edel I remember. But it really seems like she is here for someone else, not the spinner."

"Yeah, it really is like she's protecting us." Chibiusa stared at the carp charm. "It's probably a good idea that we keep these gems close to us. Someone sent her here to find us. Do you think it might be Fakir?"

Duck shrugged. "Who can say?"

"Now you sound like Miss Edel!" Chibiusa teased. She slipped the bead onto her necklace next to the time key. "We should go shopping for art supplies now!" She grabbed Duck by the wrist, leading her down the alleyway and towards the art shop.

Duck stopped near the store by the large river. "Hey, Chibiusa. I really want to tell you something."

Chibiusa stopped. She almost forgot that Duck was trying to tell her something the entire journey over. She glanced around them. No one was around. She gave her friend an assured nod. "Okay, now hopefully you won't be interrupted this time."

"Okay!" Duck psyched herself up. Telling someone you weren't actually a girl wasn't exactly easy. "I'm not really a girl, Chibiusa. I'm really a-"

Her words were interrupted by a dozen carp suddenly leaping out of the stream and glistening in the afternoon sun before diving back underneath the water.

"QUAAAAAAAAAACK!" Duck yelped in surprise. She'd said it. She'd quacked like a duck. And sure enough, just like in the previous story, she disappeared.

"Duck!" Chibiusa panicked. She knelt down, staring in horror at the pile of clothes. She nearly jumped in surprise as the clothes began to move and a yellow duck emerged from the clothing. "D-duck?"

"Quack!" Duck replied.

"You're a duck!" Chibiusa stated obviously.

Duck nodded. She paused when Chibiusa didn't say anything.

And she still didn't say anything. She moved, reaching forward and scooping up the duck in her arms. "You're so cute."

Duck sighed in relief, as much as a duck really could. She had no reason to doubt Chibiusa would accept her true self, but there was always that worry in the back of her mind. This wasn't quite the way she wanted to tell her, but at least the truth was now out.

Suddenly a carp breached the river again, splashing water on the pair. Chibiusa now held girl Duck. This was awkward.

 **...**

 **Author's musings**

nothing quite makes a confession awkward as much as Duck suddenly becoming a human girl again dduring a hug.

Femio's affection for windmills is a reference to Don Quixote. He's not really following a story with this one. He's just weird.


	21. The koi that dreamed big

Duck stood at the side of the large, traditional, Edo-style room with Chibiusa. She felt pretty good about finally telling Chibiusa about being an actual duck, and she was glad Chibiusa was so understanding. She stared down at her socked feet. It was strange to be wearing a dress and no shoes, but apparently tradition in this town was to take off shoes at the door and leave them in the cubbies.

Duck stared across the gathering. Fakir, Helios, and Illia were chatting with people about the upcoming ballet. But there was also Mr. Fishman and someone he introduced as his best friend who was also a giant fish man with his giant fish fiancee dressed in traditional kimono. There were a ton of carp here, not just the fish people but the koi ponds surrounding the indoor gardens as well as many paintings of koi. Chibiusa had explained to her that koi symbolized longevity and life, but Duck felt that this was a little excessive.

"You look unnerved, Duck," Chibiusa observed.

"What me? No not at all!" Duck replied nervously.

Chibiusa frowned a bit. The fish people were somewhat unnerving, with their giant mouths that reminded her of the carp that would come to the bridge over a pond and beg for food. She'd sometimes thrown fish food over the railing and watched the collection of mouths all fight for the food. "Something's bothering you, isn't it? Is it the fish people?"

"Well yes, I mean no. That's not the only thing," Duck shook her head.

"It's not yesterday, is it?"

Duck quickly shook her head, pretending not to think about how a touching moment had turned into something terribly awkward. That always seemed to be a thing when she shifted back into a human girl. "N-no. I asked Fakir to dance with me earlier, and he said no."

"He might be busy," Chibiusa reasoned. "They've kept Helios pretty busy too."

"Yeah there is that," Duck frowned a bit, staring back down at her socked feet. "But something about the way he said it struck me wrong. It was like he'd lost all the passion in his voice."

"Nerves?" Chibiusa wondered.

"Well that's just it," Duck shook her head. "Fakir's super confident and stubborn. He's really good at dance and performance and even in the previous story was really strong when I had my doubts a number of times. Sure, he can be forceful sometimes, but this felt different."

Chibiusa stared at him through the crowd. "He looks the same."

"He does, but his eyes are wrong," Duck insisted. "It's like the life has drained from him."

"Do you think a story is affecting him?" Chibiusa worried.

"I dunno," Duck shook her head. "But I mentioned to Helios something felt off, so he'll keep an eye on Fakir to make sure things are right. I'm just super worried with the stories getting violent lately."

"We'll just have to keep an eye out for anything that seems like a story," Chibiusa reasoned. She looked up as Mr. Fishman tapped a spoon on the side of the wine glass, quieting the crowd.

"Dancers and friends, cast members and family, thank you all for coming!" Mr. Fishman announced. "We're here to celebrate the upcoming performance of _Princess Kaguya_ in the grand theater in Gold Crown Town. I'm also happy to announce the stage manager, James Fishburn, will soon be getting married to his beloved fiancee, Effie."

One of the fish people with Mr. Fishman took a bow. He was a koi as well, though golden instead of orange like Mr. Fishman. He was with his fiancee, a smaller koi that was mostly white with golden and black specks.

"It's a double celebration tonight!" Mr. Fishman added.

Duck pursed her lips together. "Why do those names sound familiar? and why is everyone with this theater a fish?"

The doors of the room slid open, accompanied by a hurricane of rose petals and a familiar weirdo now caked in red glitter paint and red fairy wings. "I'll dance a dance of celebration!"

Mr. Fishman sighed. "Not now, Femio. Go back to work and stop dressing like a glitter fairy!"

"But how could I not dazzle you all with a dance?" Femio protested. "It's a sylph, by the way."

Chibiusa stared at him, unimpressed. "He really doesn't give up, does he?"

Duck shook her head. "He's pretty persistent."

James Fishburn seemed to be most focused on Femio and his erratic dance, much to Effie's dismay. She punched him in the side.

The performance abruptly stopped as the rose petals settled. His assistant was yanked from the hallway, Femio himself soon thereafter and the doors were slid shut once again.

"I don't see why you dislike him so much, Gurn," James frowned as much as a giant fish man could. "His dance was rather enthralling."

Mr. Fishman drew a fin to his face. "I really don't know what you see in that kid."

"I'd like to at least give him a chance," James insisted, breaking away from Effie and heading for the door.

"Don't be foolish," Mr. Fishburn chided.

James ignored the scolding and existed the room anyway, much to Effie's dismay.

"There's something going on here," Duck nodded assuredly. She grabbed Chibiusa by the wrist, using their smaller forms to weave through the gathered audience and find Fakir near the front. "Psst. Psst. Hey Fakir."

He didn't move much more than turn to scowl at her.

She pursed her lips together. Fakir was avoiding her for some reason. Perhaps it was because she was being rather informal at such an important gathering, but something about that stare felt cold. Releasing Chibiusa's wrist, she pantomimed at him the ballet mime for reading a book.

He sharply shook his head.

Illia spotted her in the crowd. "Is Duck trying to get your attention?"

"It's nothing," Fakir insisted coldly, turning his attention elsewhere. "I'll give her a talk about interrupting the celebration later."

"That's a bit harsh, don't you think?" Illia worried.

"Not really," Fakir shook his head.

Illia exchanged a worried glance with Helios, and the latter very well understood. Fakir _had_ been off since he'd returned home from the library last night, but he wasn't certain until he heard the disdain in his words. Only days before had Fakir and Duck danced a pas de deux with passion at the fire in the gazebo, and now he spoke of Duck like she was inconsequential.

He spotted both Chibiusa and Duck in the front of the crowd, offering them a quick pantomime to handle the story while he remained here with Fakir. The knowledge that Fakir had given him gave him perfect understanding of the ballet miming, so he could communicate naturally with Duck, who also understood it. Chibiusa didn't, but he saw Duck lean over and whisper the meaning to her.

They both wove back through the crowd, slipping out the sliding doors and into the hall. The hallway was littered with rose petals left behind by Femio and his performance. The petals had been disturbed, someone following him as Femio had been pulled away.

"I bet Mr. James made those tracks," Chibiusa reasoned.

"Without a doubt," Duck agreed. "I'm pretty sure I know this dance. It's _La Sylphide._ It's a pretty famous ballet where a man falls in love with a sylph despite having a fiance. But it also ends in with the sylph dying."

Chibiusa wrinkled her nose. As much as Femio irritated her, he didn't deserve for his story to end in tragedy. "Let's-" She paused, hearing the same music as the day before. "Is that a barrel organ?"

"Miss Edel!" Duck recognized the tune quickly, taking off down the hall towards the music. Sure enough, standing in the hallway was the familiar puppet cranking the barrel organ playing that same familiar tune. "Miss Edel, what are you doing here?"

"Beware the shapeshifters," she stated.

"Shapeshifters?" Duck pursed her lips together.

"I get it," Chibiusa nodded. "There're a lot of Japanese legends about shapeshifters, everything from kitsune to cats and even spirits. There's a second legend playing out here, isn't there?"

"Who can say?" Edel replied cryptically.

"Well if this is anything like the last one, it could be two legends blending together, intertwined in a way that we may not be able to separate them," Chibiusa reasoned.

"But which one?" Duck questioned.

"I dunno," Chibiusa shook her head. "There are a lot of legends with shapeshifters, and we only went over a few in class. It could be any of them." She stared down at the necklace Edel had given her the day before. The carp carved out of a gem. Now that she thought of it, there had been a lot of carp and koi since they first spotted Femio as the sylph the day before. "Koi. It's about koi."

"Koi? The fish we keep seeing everywhere?" Duck lost count in how many they'd seen in the past two days.

"There's a legend, I can't remember the name, but it tells of why we fly koi flags during certain festivals back home," Chibiusa explained. "The man dreams he's at a river, and he reaches a dragon gate. When the koi swim through the dragon gate, they grow larger and shapeshift into dragons."

"D-dragons?!" Duck exclaimed. "Like the ones that kidnap princesses?"

"Those are western dragons,," Chibiusa shook her head. "Eastern dragons a symbol of power and strength and are usually kind, but with the way this place twists legends? They might not be so kind."

"We should go find Mr. James!" Duck reasoned. "Thanks, Miss Edel!"

"Do take care," Edel wished them well as they left, kinking at the joints and suddenly removing herself from the story like a marionette pulled from a stage.

The pair leapt from the door in a burst of feathers and glitter, transforming and heading down the street. Tutu traveled using long grand jetes while Chibi Moon resorted to long leaps. Fortunately both could travel very well in their transformed state, which made covering ground much easier.

"There, they are by the river," Tutu spotted James and Femio. "By the long bridge across the waters."

James had stopped Femio in his dance, standing by the river, talking with him near a bridge. The conversation seemed a bit heated, as Femio had persistently attempted to twirl away but was stopped by James each time. Koi burst out of the river nearby, growing larger and larger as they approached the bridge. Once they crossed over it, they stretched and transformed, becoming eastern dragons that wriggled into the air and off to somewhere in the sky.

"This is surreal," Tutu commented as she landed on the building.

"This is definitely the tale of the carp flags," Chibi Moon realized. "That bridge must be the Dragon Gate. And look, James is trying to drag Femio to the gate!"

"We'll need to stop him before this takes a turn for the worse." Tutu leapt off the building in a grand jete, waving her arms like a graceful bird flapping its wings. It allowed her to travel farther, landing in front of James. She wound her hands over her head, offering one to him. "James, won't you dance with me?"

James defensively wrapped his arms around Femio. "You can't have him!"

"Princess Tutu!" Femio tried to reach out to her. "My love! Save your prince!"

If it hadn't been for the dire situation, she might've objected. "James, it is you who I want to dance with me."

"Oh my crushed heart and soul!" Femio whined. "To be rejected by my princess once again!"

"Not happening," the fish man declared, forcefully pushing her aside and heading towards the bridge.

Tutu leapt once again in front of them, trying to stop them from approaching. She glanced up at the rooftops, seeing Chibi Moon had made her way across them, her Kaleidoscope in hand. Stopping James would be difficult as he was incredibly determined to reach the bridge, dragging Femio mercilessly with him.

James once again shoved Tutu to the side, resuming his approach. Chibi Moon frowned. The transformation from a koi to a dragon was supposed to be a joyous one, not forced and with an unwilling guest. She took a knee on the building, her Kaleidoscope poised before her. She had to save them, she had to protect James's marriage and Femio's dream to do whatever he called dancing.

She thought of Helios and Fakir, of how the latter was acting strangely and the former was working to protect him. She thought of the ballet they were going to perform. She wanted to see Helios dressed in that lacy jacket that reminded her of attire popular in the royal court. She wanted to spend more time with Helios and Fakir and Duck. She wanted to see them all happy.

She had to succeed.

"Please, Kaleidoscope! Reveal what's destroying their dreams! Moon Dream Meditation!"

Rainbows bowed forward, arching off the building rooftop and down into the street below. They enveloped both James and Femio, forcing the falsely guided dreams to separate from them as doubles. Tutu reached forward, touching the doubles and turning them into leaves once again.

"Huh?" James blinked stupidly. "Why am I here? I bet Effie is worried!" He sauntered off, leaving Femio to faint dramatically on the pathway.

Tutu caught the leaves, sighing in relief as the story had come to an end. A few more koi leapt from the water, travelling through the gate and back into the sky. "Truly, the transformation is quite a sight."

"It really is," Chibi Moon agreed, leaping down from the building to the walkway. "Almost sad to see this one go." Her attention snapped to Tutu as the ballerina suddenly jarred backwards. "Tutu?"

Several backwards steps then a backwards sissounne scissor kick. A few pique turns and she found herself spinning backwards and away from the scene. She tried to turn herself back around, reaching in an arabesque towards Chibi Moon, silently crying out for help. She suddenly leapt into an impossibly high grand jete, twisting at the top to turn herself towards the other way. She leapt away from the river and out of her friend's reach.

"Tutu?!" Chibi Moon quickly took off after her. "TUTU!"

 **...**

 **Author's notes**

La Sylphide is just a bizarre ballet. Femio had hinted at it in the previous chapter, calling himself a sylph several times, but what makes it jarring is that sylphs are female. Then again, Femio has crossed the gender boundaries a few times, making him the perfect target of a ballet that reverses gender roles.

The fish people in the story are playing out all the roles in La Sylphide and unlike other stories so far, they are literally named after the characters in the ballet.

The Legend of the Dragon Gate blending with La Sylphide made for a very strange and surreal scene. As Chibiusa mentions, this legend is the origin of the koi windsocks that fly during Children's Day. The Dragon Gate was just a cool concept, so I blended it in with the symbolism of the last two chapters, since it didn't have enough for me to create a story on its own.


	22. Dance of the Dolls

"TUTU!" Chibi Moon bent her knees, springing upwards and landing on the rooftops. She sprang forward with leaps and bounds, running as fast as she could. Tutu was fast, faster than Chibi Moon could keep up. She could barely see Tutu breach over the rooftops as she leapt up high then returned to the ground.

"Chibi Moon!"

She heard the voice from the left. Tutu had suddenly changed directions. Quickly, she turned, leaping over to the next building, over the main street where the Koi Festival had taken place, over Motoki's game store and past the art store. She passed the Sparrow's Cafe, now thriving and inviting both people and birds to the cafe within.

She almost tripped when she leapt over another building, noticing Tutu had suddenly wove beneath her. Leaping off the building, she managed to snag Tutu by the edge of the tutu but the dancer spun out of reach.

"Chibi Moon!" Tutu cried out, attempting to reach her friend. "Someone's controlling my movements!"

Leaning forward a bit, Chibi Moon tried to pick up the pace. "Is it Fakir?"

"I can't hear anyone's voice!" Tutu replied. She attempted to reach out and snag the overhang on one of the buildings. She missed it and the signpost nearby, the movements pulling her just out of reach.

"The spinner!" Chibi Moon realized. "But why now?!"

"We must be reaching the end of the story!" Tutu reasoned, suddenly changing directions and heading down an alleyway. There wasn't much of Edo left in this direction save the pier where they had traveled to the illusionary island Horai. There they had met Helios for the first time when he'd heard Chibi Moon's cry for help. "This happened before though Fakir stopped it last time!"

Fakir. Chibi Moon wasn't even sure the Fakir Helios had been watching was actually him anymore. Something had happened, something had changed him from the ambitious spinner in love with Duck to someone cold and not present.

Suddenly Tutu's stance changed. She spun over and over again in grand fouetté turns, launching herself high into the air.

"Seriously?!" Chibi Moon shouted. She leapt on the building, trying to see where Tutu had gone, but she'd lost her. She had no way of flying. She'd sprouted wings to stop from falling but nothing quite like flying. But there was one time she _did_ fly.

She pulled the Crystal Carillon from her pocket. She'd used it to summon Helios here the first time, but now that she was here, she wasn't sure if it worked the same way. She stared out on the horizon, worry pulling her features. She had to try, she couldn't give up on Tutu.

Taking a knee, she grasped the bell between her hands. "Helios, protector of dreams. I need your wings as Pegasus to protect my precious friend, Princess Tutu! Twinkle Yell!"

A breeze overtook her, nearly knocking her off her knees. The sounds of a ringing bell and neighing quickly filled her ears. Feathers brushed by her as he landed behind her on the roof. "Helios!"

"I am here, Maiden," he bowed his head a bit.

"Something's controlling Tutu!" Chibi Moon panicked, frantically pointing to where she'd last seen Tutu. "She suddenly launched herself in the sky! I can't find her. I can't see where she's gone! Something's trying to take her away!"

"Worry not, Maiden," the pegasus knelt a bit. "Use my wings. We shall find her."

Chibi Moon rubbed at her face, quickly leaping onto his back. She held onto him as he lifted off the building, taking to the skies in the direction Chibi Moon had indicated. Up into the clouds they traveled, the evening skies now visible high above the clouds. It reminded her of the first time Pegasus had met her in her dreams, but now wasn't the time to reminisce. Tutu was in trouble. "We think the spinner was controlling her. She couldn't hear anyone's voice."

"Right before you had called me, Maiden, Fakir had excused himself from the party," Helios recalled. "I tried to follow him, but he seemed to have literally disappeared from sight."

"Duck was right," Chibi Moon reasoned. "Something really was happening with him."

"He was even refusing to practice the dance this morning, as if he'd completely forgotten how," Helios added. "It's been surreal, the lead dancer forgetting his own art."

Chibi Moon surveyed the area, still finding no signs of where Tutu had gone. "An impostor?"

"I'd reason so," Helios quickly agreed.

"But where is the real Fakir?" Worst-case scenarios ran through her mind. The stories had turned dangerous, often violent in the past week. Anything could've happened overnight, requiring the need for a hastily written replacement to keep the story going. She still hoped in her heart that the real Fakir _hadn't_ died. She had to keep her hope that he was still alive somewhere in the story.

"Look!" she pointed suddenly at a gap in the clouds. It was a perfectly round gap where the clouds looked like they had been spun around like cotton candy. "I bet Tutu dropped down from there!"

Helios nodded, folding his wings and dropping down from the clouds. They were outside any place she recognized, well past the borders of Edo and above a rather large lake surrounded by a particularly eerie forest.

As he landed, she leapt off his back, trying to look around the area. The place seemed hauntingly quiet, much like the Enchanted Forest from the ballet but on level that felt more dead. She glanced behind her, barely making out the clock tower from Gold Crown Town in the distance. She knelt at the water's edge. It was silent and still. "Did she..."

Helios stepped forward, shifting back into his human form as he knelt beside her, wrapping his arms around her.

She quickly buried her face in his arms. "There's no way. There's no way that she would die!"

Helios thought his heart would break. He'd already nearly lost his maiden, but Duck had befriended him as well. He didn't want to lose her too. Was this story to end in tragedy? Was there nothing they could do?

Chibi Moon rubbed her face into his shirt a few times before emerging, sniffling and rubbing at her puffy eyes. She couldn't cry. This wasn't the time for that. Tutu didn't cry when she'd saved Chibi Moon's life, so Chibi Moon had to be strong too.

She stood up. She wasn't like her mother. She didn't have an awoken crystal yet, but she pulled it from the brooch anyway, cradling it in her hands. This crystal had formed of her own tears when Pluto had died. Now that she thought of it, she'd seen a lot of death. Pluto, Saturn once, herself even. But each time, they were reborn with the power of the silver crystal. Hers was pink, formed by her own tears and bonded with her heart and her hopes and dreams. And right now, her hope was to find Tutu.

She held the crystal out, cradling it in her hands, preparing to wish upon it when the sound of a barrel organ filled her ears. Turning, she found Edel approaching, her face unchanging though for a moment, Chibi Moon swore she had a hint of sadness in her eyes. "Miss Edel?"

"This story isn't yet over, little rabbit," Edel stated.

Chibi Moon knit her brow in worry. "But Tutu is..."

"... still alive," Edel finished the sentence. "Someone wishes to protect her. Surely you both still have the charms."

She did, she was still wearing it. Duck had been wearing hers as well before transforming. Edel was definitely not working on behalf of the current spinner, Chibi Moon quickly realized. The charms really had been given to them to protect them, to keep them from dying. There was only one she could think of that would be trying to protect Tutu so fervently. "Fakir?"

"Who knows," Edel replied. "Right now, she is wound within two stories, fighting to emerge in one piece. I do believe she will need some help." That was the most direct thing Chibi Moon had ever heard Edel say. "And once you emerge victorious, you must travel somewhere important. Princess Tutu will know the answer."

Back to the cryptics. Chibi Moon shook her head, not trying to understand what the message meant as Edel sauntered off mysteriously once again. She was currently more focused on finding Tutu. She pulled the koi pendant from her shirt. It was glowing brightly, as if it were trying to tell her where to find her lost friend. Then it appeared. There was a slight glow from beneath the water. "Tutu!"

She was under the lake.

Chibi Moon held out the pink crystal once again. "Crystal, please lend me your power!" Light burst forth, quickly transforming her into her princess form. She placed the crystal on the necklace next to the glowing koi charm and the time key before approaching the edge of the lake. "I'm going in."

"Be careful, Maiden," Helios wished her well.

"I will." Bending her knees, she dove into the cold, dark waters, the crystal and the koi charm serving as her only light. As she swam, the waters felt lighter than usual, not offering much resistance despite the layers she was wearing. She wasn't sure how long she could hold her breath, but as the air escaped her lungs, she found that she could breath beneath the surface. As she dove deeper and deeper, she spotted a swirling vortex at the bottom. "Tutu!" Using all her strength, she swam some more, landing on the bottom of the lake.

"Chibi Moon!" Tutu continued to spin. "Fakir, he's trying to reach me. I can hear his voice, but I cannot stop spinning! He lead me to this lake where we ended the last story!"

Edel had been pretty accurate when she said Tutu was pulled in two ways. She had to do something before the spinner's story overtook her again. She had to help Tutu so they could end this story without tragedy. Fakir was alive. Tutu was alive. There was hope.

Clasping the pink crystal in her hands, she held it forward, closing her eyes. "There's hope. There's always hope. We'll finish this story the right way, without tragedy, without death, without destruction. This time, it's my turn to save you!" The crystal began to glow a warm pink light. The light enveloped both Tutu and Small Lady. With all her might, Small Lady wished upon the crystal, hoping it would grant her wish. Slowly but surely, Tutu's turns slowed until she finally stopped completely.

Small Lady opened her eyes, leaping forward and throwing herself on Tutu as the princess dress faded and she returned to Super Sailor Chibi Moon. "I thought I was going to lose you! I was really scared!"

Tutu embraced her friend tightly in return. "Thank you, Chibi Moon. Thank you for searching so far for me."

Chibi Moon squeezed Tutu even tighter. "I could never give up on a friend. I could never let you die. I'd give up all my power just to save my friend."

Tutu smiled sympathetically. She felt the same way when she saw Chibi Moon collapsed lifelessly in the art studio. She was so willing to give up being Tutu just to save her, but thankfully Fakir had been there to give her more power. "Fakir! We need to save him now too!"

Chibi Moon finally released her vice grip on Tutu. "We do! Miss Edel was at the shore and said you would know where we needed to go!"

"I do," Tutu nodded. "He's locked within the library store room." She wrapped an arm around Chibi Moon's waist, spinning the two. The spinning created a vortex which lifted them both up and out of the lake, landing on the shoreline.

Chibi Moon greeted him with a tight hug. "Helios! Can you get us quickly to the library?"

"Of course," Helios nodded. He stepped forward, his form shifting into a white pegasus.

"A pegasus!" Tutu exclaimed. Helios was magical, and their world was magical, but this was still beyond what she'd expected to ever see.

"Hop on," Helios instructed them. "We'll reach there quickly."

And quickly they did. His wings were powerful, carrying the trio into town. Their presence had attracted the attention of surprisingly few, the rest mulling about their business as if seeing a flying pegasus in the sky were absolutely normal. He landed by the library. As the girls jumped off, he shifted back into his human form, opening the door for them. They quickly rushed in, Helios following closely behind as they leapt through the library and into the back halls, Tutu guided by Fakir's instructions in her mind. They passed by several doors, a few open but most had been closed, until Tutu stopped at the door at the end of the hall. "Here."

She reached forward, half expecting someone or something to jump out one of the closed doors to stop them, but the hallway remained quiet and still. Carefully she pushed the lock, opening the door. Sure enough, there was Fakir with dozens of papers littered across the floor accompanied by Autor.

"I knew you would come," Fakir smiled up at Tutu.

"Fakir!" She fell to her knees, practically clinging to him as if she'd lose him if she let go. This was the real Fakir, the one with passion and hope in his eyes, the one without the hollow, hopeless words. This was absolutely the real one, and he was still alive.


	23. A tangled spinner's web

"We'll be able to hide here for the time being," Fakir invited the group to sit around the large wooden table in Karon's smithery.

"Do you really think that's going to work?" Autor criticized.

"Not for long," Fakir shook his head. "I have instructed Edel to cause some mischief around town. The spinner is already very aware of her presence. The Autor I've been talking to since this story began has been an impostor, the real one here stuck in the library the entire time."

"He is likely aware of my presence as well," Helios reasoned.

"He knows more than he really needed to," Fakir frowned, "and I fed the information right to him." He hit the table with his hand in frustration. "He was so convincing as Autor I had no idea the spinner was standing right in front of me."

"And the fake Fakir was totally unconvincing," Duck pointed out.

"I had reasoned that the spinner was in the story recently, but I still couldn't figure out where he was or how he got his information so easily," Fakir added, "until I ran into Edel in the library. Then it hit me. Edel _isn't_ part of his story. She's part of Drosselmeyer's. When the spinner tried to revive his story, Edel came with it, acting as a free agent."

"That's why she felt like the same Miss Edel as before!" Duck realized. "She _is_ the same!"

"Is that why she pulled me into the story?" Chibiusa wondered.

"I can't exactly tell. She's not the best at giving direct answers," Fakir shook his head. "However, when I realized that she was freely moving around the story, I wrote her her own part. Because it was to help Duck, I was able to spin her own story."

"The koi necklaces," Chibiusa pulled the charm from her shirt.

"I told her to protect you both in any way she knew how," Fakir informed them. "Seems she's still giving people gems."

"She also told me not to lose hope when I couldn't find Tutu in the lake," Chibiusa added. "Kinda indirectly, but it still worked."

"She plays the part well," Fakir nodded. "I get the feeling the spinner is really irritated with her right now, but it'll keep him distracted. Which gives us time to figure out who or what the spinner is."

"I think I know," Chibiusa admitted.

"What really?!" Duck pushed her shoulder excitedly.

"When Miss Edel mentioned 'beware the shapeshifters', I thought she meant the koi from the story," Chibiusa informed them. "But the spinner seems like a shapeshifter too. There's a legend back home called _The Tanuki and the Teapot_ , which tells of a tanuki that can shift into a teapot. Tanuki're also associated with leaves."

"Well that would match up to what we've seen so far," Fakir agreed, "and why every legend that mentioned tanuki and kitsune was ripped out of the library books. But what even _is_ a tanuki?"

Chibiusa considered describing them, but she had a better idea. "Do you have some paper?"

"Yeah." Fakir stood up, rummaging through the drawers to find a fresh pad of paper and a quill, handing it to her.

She quickly began to scribble. It had an anime look to it, but she quickly doodled a tanuki and a kitsune. She turned the drawings around to show them group.

"Wait a second," Fakir stared at the drawings. "Back when we were saving that sparrow, I saw a raccoon and a fox."

"They look pretty similar," Chibiusa nodded. "There's legends surrounding both. They're both tricksters, but the tanuki is said to be better at it. Both can take human form."

"Can they actually write?" Autor didn't seem to buy the idea just yet.

"There are legends about entire tanuki societies filled with samurai and ninja and lords and ladies, so I'd imagine they could," Chibiusa nodded.

"I do wonder why one would go to such elaborate lengths to spin such a story filled with both Japanese and German legends," Helios pondered.

"There's something here we don't know," Fakir reasoned, "something the tanuki wants or that its not working alone. Or perhaps it's part of a legend itself."

"It would hardly be the first time when someone has attempted to pull Maiden's power from her," Helios recalled. "Perhaps the tanuki seeks power in both Chibi Moon and Princess Tutu. He has attempted to kill both while he only imprisoned the two of you."

"That's a good point," Fakir agreed. "He also told me I was interesting, which leads me to believe he was toying with me so he could get to the rest of you. But then Helios interjected into the story."

"So he had to resort to Drosselmeyer-like measures to get what he wanted," Autor reasoned, recalling the spinner's disregard for life within his stories.

"And he attempted to make Chibiusa's death look like a result of the story," Fakir added. "Then spin Tutu off and drown her in a pond. Any stories you can think of that might explain what he's trying to do?"

"There is _Society of the Tanuki_ , but I hadn't finished that book yet," Chibiusa frowned. "Something about betrayal and honor and samurai ideals."

"What if he's acting out two stories too?" Autor suggested. "You mentioned that the stories became intertwined. What if he's _become_ part of the story just as we have and he's lost control? Or he's started the story with one thing in mind but got tangled with another?"

"That could explain why the legends are getting mixed up and changed," Fakir agreed. He glanced down at the paper on the table. "There's something that's been stuck to my mind, the way Chibiusa described the life literally being pulled from her. There's one ballet I could think of that involves pulling life force: _Coppelia._ "

"Coppelia?" Chibiusa repeated.

"It's a ballet about a doll maker, Dr. Coppelius," Fakir explained. "He wants to bring his doll, Coppelia, to life so he has Franz fall in love with her and tries to steal his life force to make her real. It doesn't turn out well for Coppelius, though. His workshop and dolls are destroyed in the process and his plans ruined."

"But if the previous time this town has spun into a story tells us anything, the stories can be changed," Autor pointed out. "It could be that the tanuki, or perhaps Coppelius, wants to change the ending. We're working on theories here."

"How does his workshop get destroyed?" Chibiusa asked.

"In the ballet, it's because Franz's girlfriend, Swanhilda, poses as Coppelia when Franz is kidnapped," Fakir recalled the storyline. "While posing as the doll, she destroys the shop."

"There was something odd I noticed when we flew over the city," Chibiusa recalled. "Most of the people didn't notice us. What if we're in the shop and Duck and I are Franz? Maybe you both are Swanhilda, trying to keep us from getting lured in by Dr. Coppelius. I mean, that's pretty crazy, but I've been through some really crazy things. Helios can agree."

"That is pretty accurate," Helios agreed.

"That... That actually makes sense," Autor pushed his glasses up his nose, feeling almost offended that some small child figured it out before he did.

"And Dr. Coppelius, the tanuki, is trying to make you two stronger by throwing you into legends until he can have a legend kill you in the process, make it look like an accident," Fakir reasoned. "It's all an elaborate cover."

That sounded about right for the situations Chibiusa had been pulled into. The last one was a spiteful lady stuck in a mirror and angry because she didn't get invited to a birthday party. This one at least made sense. "So how can we, as Franz, handle the end of this story without ending up a victim?"

"Because Swanhilda is a spinner," Fakir pointed out with the analogy. "All you two need to do is find him and challenge him. That's going against how the story actually plays out. We'll support you so you won't fall victim to the trickster."

 **...**

 **Author's comments**

There are a few times where SM seems to imply that Chibiusa is a bit more academic than Usagi is. Perhaps she inherited some of Mamoru's smarts. And having her figure things out before Artor probably would piss him off


	24. Dance of the Automatons

Chibiusa and Duck glanced around at their classmates milling about in the courtyard. Their movements seemed less natural than before, almost as if they weren't real people. Even the people they'd been associating with the last month seemed almost robotic.

"This is kinda unsettling," Duck admitted.

"It's like they've all suddenly become dolls," Chibiusa agreed. "It really is _Coppelia_." She frowned a bit. "How do we even find the tanuki among all the people? He could be hiding anywhere."

"Well Fakir said that he had Miss Edel keep him busy," Duck recalled, "so maybe if we find Miss Edel, we can find the tanuki." A faint tune caught her attention. "Do you hear that? It sounds like a dying piano."

"I do," Chibiusa knit her brow in concern. "What is that?"

"It sounds like it's coming from the garden!" Duck darted off down the courtyard, rounding the dance studio. She ran passed the gardens that Freya cared for, past the fountain where Duck often found herself turning back to a girl in the previous story, and towards the gazebo where the group had celebrated Chibiusa's return to life.

There in the center of the gazebo was a pile of wood in colors of browns, reds, and greens with a pair of hands that were cranking a badly damaged barrel organ.

"Miss Edel!" Duck gasped. Dashing over to the gazebo, she knelt down at the pile of wood. Behind the pile was most of Edel's head. Chibiusa nearly jumped out of her shoes as the head turned.

"It seems I was able to guide you once again," Edel commented, unfazed that she was now mostly chopped wood.

"Miss Edel!" Duck looked like she would cry.

"Do not cry for me, Duck, for I am still just a puppet," Edel insisted.

"But you were our friend," Duck pursed her lips together.

"I have lived my purpose," Edel countered. "Now it is time to finish yours."

"Thank you, Miss Edel," Chibiusa offered the wooden head a bow. "We'll end this story right, thanks to your help."

"I am just doing as I was written to do," Edel countered with a singsong voice.

Chibiusa grinned. "I'm certain there's more to it than that." She patted Duck on the shoulder. "We should go. It's time we end this story." She was sad to speak the words again. Ending the story meant she would have to say goodbye to Duck and Fakir and everyone she'd met at the Gold Crown Academy. But she knew that she couldn't live in this story forever. It wasn't real. She had to return to her own home, and the others had to return to theirs.

Silently Duck agreed. She had to return to her true self, even if it meant missing Chibiusa, Diana, and Helios. She had to be true to herself and have one last dance.

Their classmates and fellow students began to gather around. Even some of the teachers like Mr. Cat and Miss Kitter had been pulled into the crowd. Their movements were stiff and disjointed, as if the person pulling the strings wasn't actually good at doing it. Not that Chibiusa had truly expected a tanuki to be good at puppeteering.

In a flash of feathers and light, Duck transformed into Tutu, leaping upwards on top of the gazebo. Chibiusa followed suit, transforming into Chibi Moon in a burst of glitter and ribbons.

"I can hear Fakir," Tutu closed her eyes, listening for a moment.

Chibi Moon closed her eyes for a moment. "I can hear Helios praying for us. We're not alone. We have their strength. It's time we bring this story to a close with our own hands."

This felt all too familiar. The Raven had done something similar, pulling the people of the town towards him and turning them into crows. The story had gone a bit differently then, however. She'd surrendered her heart shard to Mytho so he could become complete. This time, the power in her pendant came from Fakir's writing and her own desire to help stop the errant stories.

Carefully on the gazebo roof, she spun and spun in fouetté turns. Roses and lilies began to sprout up from the ground, ensnaring the unstable feet of the dolls.

Chibi Moon summoned her Kaleidoscope, holding it out in front of her. She'd seen Sailor Moon do amazing things with her power, so with the others giving her hope, she should be able to do something with her own. She held the Kaleidoscope out in front of her. "Please, Kaleidoscope, wake everyone up!" Rainbows burst out in arcs, covering the dollified people, but the rainbows seemed to have no effect.

"Your pathetic light won't do anything."

The sharp voice drew their attention to the school's balcony. Standing upon it was the impostor Fakir. "Coppelius, the tanuki!"

"Should've known you'd figure it out," the tanuki taunted them. "But no matter. You cannot change the ending of the story. It's already been set in motion. No matter how much you try, you still cannot change this ending. I will attain the power of the moon and be rid of the wretched moon rabbits and her friends!"

Chibi Moon knew the reference. _Fire-crackle Mountain_ , a legend she wished she never read. It was a disturbingly violent story about revenge where the rabbit tricks the tanuki and sets him on fire. But that wasn't how Chibiusa was, that wasn't how _any_ of the moon rabbits were. Perhaps there was a way to make him understand, but part of her was past 'trying to make him understand'. He'd screwed with her and her friends, and that just was unacceptable.

"That's where you're wrong, Coppelius!" Chibi Moon declared. "We're the champions of love and justice, protectors of hopes and dreams! In the name of the future Moon, we'll stop your spinning and return everyone home!"

"I've had enough of your storybook introductions!" the tanuki hissed, thrusting his hands forward. Strings shot out of his fingers, attempting to ensnare Chibi Moon and Tutu in their grasp. Both managed to leap away and off the gazebo, landing in the garden. Tutu frowned a bit as she crushed a few flowers, but right now, the flowers weren't her main concern.

"Tutu..."

The voice sounded strained. She turned, finding Femio lumbering towards her. He attempted to reach out to her, to grasp her as if pleading for her to save him. "My love..."

Tutu knit her brow in worry. Femio was still in there somewhere, pulled by invisible strings like a real life marionette. She was certain he wasn't just a storybook character, that he existed somewhere within the real world. But right now, he'd become a doll, unable to do much more than plead for his unrequited love. Coppelius was toying with people's lives here, and she had to stop him, just like they'd stopped Drosselmeyer. She wondered if Fakir were right, if the tanuki had lost control and became entangled with the story or if he'd created it to _become_ Coppelius. It was wrong and horrible either way.

She peered back towards the balcony. Coppelius had busied himself with attempting to pull the life from Chibi Moon. The pink-haired guardian was quick on her feet, dodging the strings one by one, moving to and fro as she avoided the doll people as well. She'd spotted Momoko in the crowd, her best friend in the real world. There was part of Momoko that seemed to still be there, but her movements were forced and unnatural. The only way to free her was to end this story.

Coppelius's repeated attacks hadn't left her with much of an opportunity to gather hew power and counterattack, but there were ways to gather power and hope from an external source. She'd heard of Sailor Moon doing it before, so she had to appeal to whatever was left within the dolls. "Please, everyone! Send me your hope and love and dreams! I'll protect them for you all!"

As she turned, avoiding another string, she'd missed the one laying on the grass behind her. It snagged her foot, yanking and pulling until she'd lost her balance and collided face first with the ground. It hurt. It stung in more places she could count as she scraped her body against the pavement, the strings attempting to pull her closer to Coppelius. She fought against the strings as more wrapped themselves around her body, attempting to pull her brooch from her bow. She curled up, clasping her hands over it. "You can't have this! You can't have the power to protect their dreams!"

She knew how dangerous it was to lose her brooch. If it was stolen in a certain way, it would rip her life from her. She'd bonded with the crystal within. She knew the power it held, a power that came from her own heart. It was part of her.

"Give me the power of the White Moon!" Coppelius hissed, tugging on the strings.

"Never!" Chibi Moon shouted back. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes, her cheeks becoming puffy as she attempted to fight the tears. But that gave her an idea. She cried. She wailed and screamed and cried. The hairclips in her buns emphasized the screaming, sending supersonic waves shooting through the gardens. The waves pulsed and spread, shattering the windows in the buildings and snapping all the strings. The puppets began to move uncontrollably, placing their hands over their ears and falling to the ground.

Coppelius clamped his hands over his ears, his illusions of Fakir fading in and out, the tanuki visible underneath for a few moments. How could something so small scream so loud?! She never took the Moon as being full of crybabies. The legends really didn't describe anything like this.

Chibi Moon rubbed at her eyes, shutting the crying off like a child throwing a tantrum. That power only worked when she was truly crying, and right now with her body covered in scrapes, she'd been fighting that off for awhile. She just had to let that out. She glanced over to Tutu who seemed to survive the scream the perfectly fine. Perhaps it was because she was a magical girl too.

Tutu leapt across the gardens, standing next to Chibi Moon unharmed. Coppelius wasn't as untouchable as he'd thought. Even his illusions were jarred by whatever magic Chibi Moon had just used. Fortunately as she glanced around, the doll people were generally unharmed aside from likely massive, pounding headaches.

"You see, in _Coppelia_ , the workshop was destroyed in the end," Chibi Moon informed him matter-of-factly. "And Coppelius was left without any dolls."

"Damn you both!" Coppelius hissed. "The power of the duck and the rabbit will be mine! Dolls be damned!" He pulled paper and a quill from his pocket. "I'll claim your power without them! I'll write the true end to the story!"

"I think we need to finally end this story, Chibi Moon," Tutu suggested. She didn't want to subject anyone else to the power of his writing. It was time they unspun this tale. "Let's combine the power of the duck and the rabbit and protect everyone's hopes and dreams."

Chibi Moon nodded with a bit of sadness. This was the last act they would do as Chibi Moon and Tutu together. They would go their separate ways after this. Part of her didn't want the story to end, but all stories needed a conclusion. This storybook world couldn't exist forever, especially with someone like Coppelius trying to run the show.

She summoned the Kaleidoscope to her hand. Tutu wrapped a hand around the hilt as well, linking the two together in a combined effort. They could both feel Fakir and Helios supporting them from nearby. They both arabesqued, though Tutu's was much more graceful than Chibi Moon's. That wasn't the point, they were in unison. Shifting their weight, they both pulled the extended leg forward into a plie, drawing their linked hands back.

"Kaleidoscope! Hear our prayers, hear our dreams! End this story and protect everyone! Moon Ballet Dream Meditation!"

Rainbows, feathers, sparkles, and ribbons burst forth, powered by the hopes and dreams of Chibi Moon, Tutu, Fakir, Helios, and all those who had been turned to dolls. The skies brightened, the flowers sprang to life, the people were freed of the strings that Coppelius had wound around them.

"No NO NO!" Coppelius screeched. "I had everything so well planned!"

"You made a mistake in involving us," Fakir stated sharply, emerging from the nearby shadows with Autor and Helios. He placed a hand on Tutu's shoulder. Autor followed suit, and Helios placed a hand on Chibi Moon's shoulder.

"Your days of twisting people into your sadistic storylines are over," Autor added.

Coppelius's illusions fell off, the tanuki panicking underneath. He'd lost. His plans were completely ruined and being torn apart in front of him. The world was tearing like pages in a book, the people torn away from each other.

"Tutu!" Chibi Moon reached out for her, barely brushing her fingers against the ballerina's before the two were separated. "Tutu! Fakir! Autor! I'm so glad I met you all!"

"We'll never forget you!" Tutu called back to her.

And the world fell blank.

The light ringing of the Crystal Carillon filled her ears. Chibiusa stirred, feeling the books and the bookshelf of the library poke her into the back. The world came back into view. Dozens upon dozens of books lined the shelves. They were all legends from around the world, translated into Japanese. The Carillon had fallen from her pocket at some point. It was as if she'd fallen asleep in the library with Drosselmeyer's book in her lap.

She stared at the book. Had it all been a dream?

She flipped through the book quickly. It couldn't have been a dream. Duck, Fakir, Autor, even Femio. They all had to be real. The pages of text went on and on, some were accompanied by drawings and sketches. The more pages she turned, the more she was worried that it really had been a dream. As she turned the last page, something fell from the pages, clinking on the ground. Setting the book aside, she picked up the orange gem shaped like a carp.

She smiled. It was real, and even though they were worlds apart, she had something to remember them.

 **...**

 **Author's notes**

The final battle! I thought long about how to conclude this story. Coppelia seemed like a great way to "tie" everything together. It's unclear if the tanuki created this illusion for himself or if he got caught in a story for himself. I'll leave that for you all to decide.

Fire-crackle mountain is the driving force behind the entire story. It's a particularly awful legend (as half of the ancient Japanese legends seem to be) that involved a rabbit tricking a tanuki and lighting him on fire while he goes up the mountain thus the name. I had to throw in information from other tales like "The Tanuki and the Teapot" and "Society of Tanuki" for inspiration of the leaves and the teapots. Tanuki are tricksters. Makes sense for one to be a spinner, right?

Please stay tuned for a cute epilogue!


	25. The Dance of Hours

"And that's how the story of the Prince and the Raven ends!" Chibiusa held up her poster with the drawing of the last pages of the book. The story ended well, with the Prince and his Princess both defeating the evil Raven and eventually being wed. Sadly neither Tutu nor Fakir were mentioned in detail, but she knew in her heart they had been there the whole time.

"That's so mushy!" Kyusuke complained.

"No one asked you," Chibiusa stuck her tongue out at him. "I think it's sweet. Despite all odds, they were able to defeat the Raven and save Gold Crown Town. It's a great ending!"

"Thanks, Chibiusa, that was a great report," the teacher smiled.

Chibiusa beamed happily at her, tucking the sketches under her arm and settling back in her seat. She felt like she'd done the story justice, fully represented the people and the world she'd experienced. She wanted to see them again, but she was certain that wasn't possible. They lived in Germany or some European town, and she was over on the other side of the world in Japan. Even if they managed to reach Japan, they'd all speak different languages.

Perhaps for now, she'd just keep them as memories in her picture diary. When she returned home from the library, she spent all weekend drawing everything that happened, her adventures with everyone from Gold Crown Town and Edo. She didn't want to forget.

But that was only drawings. She walked by the river after school, a bag of crackers in her hand.

Diana peeked out of her backpack, looking concerned. "You still miss them, don't you, Small Lady?"

"I do," Chibiusa nodded.

"But they'll always exist in our memories," Diana pointed out.

"I wonder if Puu can help me visit them," Chibiusa wondered. "I should talk to her about it. I bet she'd love to hear the adventure we had, of all the people we met, and all the friends we made."

She stopped, staring out at the river. It was the same river that appeared in the fake Edo, but this was in modern Tokyo. It was a pretty big river that she'd visit every so often just because it was pretty. The same river even ran through Crystal Tokyo.

She'd visited it frequently lately as ducks tended to gather there. A family full of mallards had settled on the shore of the river, quacking noisily at each other as if carrying on some intriguing conversation. Among them was a particularly yellow duck that Chibiusa hadn't seen visit the lake. She wasn't even sure what species of duck it was. It looked like a duckling but was the size of an adult.

Chibiusa squatted down, opening up the cracker bag. "Here duckies!" She pulled out a handful of crackers, crunching them a bit and spreading them on the grass. The hungry ducks came and quite quickly gobbled it up. The yellow one, however, went right past the food and up to Chibiusa.

"Aren't you cute!" Chibiusa smiled. "You know, you remind me of someone I knew. Her name was Duck. Cute, right?" She stuck her hand in the bag, pulling out another handful of crackers and offered it to the yellow duck. "You know, she's probably a ducky like you now, floating around happily in some pond as Fakir writes all sorts of stories. That sounds like a great thing to do, right?"

The yellow duck peered up at her as if it understood.

"I just wrote a story about her for class," Chibiusa continued. "About Princess Tutu and Fakir and the story they once lived. It's just a legend here, but it was fun to write about them. I wonder if they're writing about me too."

"Quack quack!" the yellow duck replied.

"You know, I bet you're right," Chibiusa nodded. "We said we'd never forget each other, even if we're worlds apart, and so we won't. We'll always be there for each other in our memories and dreams."

"Quack quack!" the duck attempted to jump into her lap.

Chibiusa smiled. "You're really cute, but I don't think Ikuko-mama would let me have another pet. You have to stay here in the river with your friends." She gently picked up the duck and set it down on the grass. She stood up, crushing the crackers then emptying out the bag onto the grass. The yellow duck seemed more interested in her than the crackers.

Chibiusa knit her brow in concern. She wanted to take the duck home but she didn't know how to care for a duck. It was best it stayed here where it belonged. She frowned, turning on her heels and staring at the bank back up to the sidewalk.

"You know, you feed her too much, she won't be able to fly home."

Chibiusa paused. She knew that sharp voice. She saw those familiar shoes, those familiar black pants, that weird familiar blue shirt that had one sleeve longer than the other, and finally that familiar sharp angular face staring back at her. "No way."

" _That's_ the first thing you say to me?" Fakir grinned.

She leapt forward, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Fakir! I can't believe it!" She buried her face in his shirt. "I don't know how you're here. Are we in another story?"

"Nah, this is reality," Fakir shook his head. "I decided to write us a trip, and after I found your picture diary, I guessed where we might find you."

"Quack quack quack!" the little yellow duck poked at Chibiusa's leg.

"That means this must be Duck! Really actually Duck!" Chibiusa knelt down, scooping up the yellow duck and hugging her gently in her arms. "I should've known no other ducky could be so cute!"

Fakir snorted a bit of a laugh which resulted in several angry quacks from Duck. "We'll be in Tokyo for a while. Apparently book signings are a big thing here. However, if you have some time, would you show us around?"

Chibiusa lit up. She still wasn't sure how this was possible, given that she was convinced that they were in a different time than she was, but she traveled through time herself, so it wasn't _entirely_ impossible. Pluto might be upset about more time travel, but with some explanations from Chibiusa, surely she'd understand. "I'd love to! We should go to Harajuku for some crepes then visit the _real_ Tokyo Tower. Let's make the most of the time you're here!"

...

Author's notes:

Thanks for reading my first crossover! I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.

The last few chapters have all been named after songs from "Coppelia". The Dance of Hours is the final song in the ballet, a fitting name for the final chapter. I wanted to write a short epilogue to help tie things together, to show where they all ended up. I bet they had a lot of fun eating crepes and visiting Tokyo Tower!

Until the next tale!


End file.
